Champion Industries
by Arieanna
Summary: A.I. has new offices, and the Hyperion is now the home of Champion Industries. What happens when their latest assignment is also a piece of their newest member's forgotten past? HP crossover.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Champion Industries  
Author: Arieanna (arieanna@hotmail.com)  
Pairing: No way, not telling yet!  
Genre: HP/BtVS/AtS crossover  
Spoilers: The entire series run of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, all four as yet seasons of Angel and all of the Harry Potter books, including Order of the Phoenix.  
Rating: PG15  
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, All Buffy and Angel peeps are courtesy of the JossGod and Mutant Enemy. All Potter folk are from the super imaginative, had me standing in line for hours for OotP, mind of J.K. Rowling. And her publishing company and whoever else. Most definitely NOT mine. Or I'd be rich  
Distribution: TTH. FF.net. And, if you want it, just ask me!! I love to share!  
A/N: I know, I know, I have other stories on the go. But after reading OotP, and a multitude of excellent crossovers, this plot bunny bit me and just would not let go until I started writing my first HP/Buffy cross. It all started with the idea of Xander calling him J.J. and spun out of control from there. Feedback is appreciated, begged for, lived on. It's like air!  
  
  
Champion Industries: Prologue  
*************************  
  
It was a typical late summer afternoon in California. Heat shimmered off of the pavement at L.A.X., distorting his view of the cars that surrounded him. He was waiting in the loading zone, barely believing he'd been talked into this. She'd even tried to get him to come inside with her, but he had adamantly refused.  
  
It was bad enough that he was sitting in the car waiting for them. Them! Of all of the helpless people out there, why did it have to be them? He understood the way things worked. It wasn't their choice which missions they got saddled with. They just got handed the jobs from their bosses.  
  
They were the new jobs, whether he liked it or not. He most definitely did not. But here he was, waiting to pick them up. After their airplane trip, of all modes of transportation.  
  
He was annoyed with the whole affair. He could have stayed back at the hotel, poolside, but no. Here he was, playing chauffeur.  
  
At least she was letting him drive the car. And they had taken the convertible. That alone was enough of a reason that he had reluctantly agreed to accompany the girl. That, and the fact that she could manage to talk him into anything. After all, it was her powers of persuasion that were mostly responsible for the way that he now looked.  
  
Not that he looked unusual for what he was. Or at least, for what he appeared to be. He looked like any number of other California teenagers, waiting at the airport to pick up friends or family. No, the only people that he would stand out with would be anyone he had ever known. Anyone he had lived around before he had found himself in California, and thrust into the life of his present companion and her friends.  
  
His appearance didn't even turn heads. He wore black jeans, with the customary silver chain to keep his wallet in place. Combat boots. Silver shirt, the sleeves short in deference to the summer heat. Even the things that set him apart weren't overly eye catching. A metal bar stuck diagonally through the cartilage of one ear. Black sunglasses. Black, brown and red chunks blended into the natural silver-blonde of his hair. A flaming heart tattooed on his forearm with a silver railroad spike driven through it. He had gotten the tat that matched one that his companion bore very recently.   
  
They had gone to get them on his birthday, it's placement on him assuring that no other mark would ever grace that spot.  
  
Yes, he looked like your typical American. Your everyday, angst ridden, teenaged American.  
  
It was that that would surprise them. The people that comprised their newest job. The fact that he fit in so well here, a place he should have hated.  
  
And he was quite sure that they would be shocked to the core if they ever realized that he liked fitting in.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
She paced outside the international arrivals gate, her anxiety increasing every minute.  
  
The flight had been delayed, she had little clue as to what the people she was waiting for looked like, and they had to get home without her sister realizing that she had let him drive the car.  
  
She had had a terrible time trying to convince him to come and help her with the first part of their new assignment, and had used the car as a bribe.  
  
It had been decided that it would be less conspicuous if the teen picked them up. She would go to the airport, acting for all the world like she was meeting old friends. She hoped that her companion's descriptions, vague though they were, were good enough that when she threw herself into the arms of one of the foursome as part of the cover, that it was the right foursome.  
  
She had convinced him to come with her for authenticity's sake. If he hadn't stayed in the car, he would have known them instantly. After all, they really were old friends of his. Well, old schoolmates, at any rate. And saying that they had been old enemies would have been far more appropriate.  
  
But it was more fun this way, she had to admit. With him waiting in the car, she'd be able to fully focus on their reactions when they first saw him again.  
  
The better part of a year could bring about a lot of changes, and boy had the time changed him.  
  
Judging by his appearance, he had changed a lot, and they would be able to see it right away. But the significantly greater change in him was within. Gone was the one time snobbish brat that had been their rival. In his place was someone completely altered by the time away from them.  
  
The girl ran a hand trough her multicolored hair, shaking the length back behind her shoulders. It was mostly brown, but the red, blonde and black in it caught the light, and the attention of those around her. It earned her a second glance by more than one passer-by.  
  
That and the clothes that she wore, of course.  
  
A white baby T-shirt with the words 'Lil' Bit' blazing across her chest in blood red bared a fair amount of her midriff. The strip of skin left uncovered showed a shiny ring through her navel at the front, and a tattoo at the small of her back, a copy of the one that adorned her companion.  
  
Her pants were baggy cargoes, held up by black suspenders. A black messenger bag was slung over one shoulder and her chest to rest on the opposite hip. Clunky black boots shod her feet. At the moment, those feet were shuffling back and forth with impatience.  
  
It was then that the tinny airport speakers rang out. "Flight 1013, from London via New York now landing."  
  
The voice continued to drone on, but she was no longer listening. She was busy preparing herself for the moment of truth. She hoped to the Gods that she didn't mess up her first unsupervised assignment.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
As the announcement rang over the speakers in the terminal, the group of four that the Americans teen was expecting was unloading their carry on luggage from the overhead compartments.  
  
Not that they had a lot of things with them. Most all of their possessions were in the cargo hold, in the trunks that they had packed just days before, fully expecting to be returning to their school, three of the four for their final year, at the end of the week.  
  
They had not been expecting to fly, on a plane, halfway around the world to stay with a group of American strangers for who knew how long.  
  
Most of their small group had never been in a plane before, and were surprised at how tiring of a trip it had been. People really traveled like this?  
  
The group hoped that they would be able to just rest when they got where they were going. There would be time to grill their hosts for information after they felt human again.  
  
The dark-haired boy of the group had nothing but resentment in his heart for the turn his life had taken in the last few days.  
  
Why now? It wasn't as if the danger that they were running from, hiding from, was a new danger. He'd lived with that danger looming over him for his entire life.  
  
Why now was the place that he had thought of as home since his first year there not enough to protect him? How could these people be better at protecting him than the headmaster and the others, who had been doing an admirable job at just that so far?  
  
Their sixth year had passed with little incident, surprisingly enough. So why wouldn't their seventh?  
  
Had that just been the calm before the storm? Did they know something that he did not? Was there an increasing threat that they had not informed him about?  
  
Either way, it made the green eyed boy angry. If he was in greater danger than that with which he was usually faced, he and his friends should have been told. They should have been involved in the decisions that had wrought such great and sudden changes in their lives.  
  
If not, then they had pulled the group of them from school, and sent them a half a world away from everything they knew, for no reason at all.  
  
Not only that, but they had ruined what was supposed to be one of the greatest years of his young life.  
  
The boy and his best friends had been dreaming of this year since the beginning of school, and they would miss it. There would be no playing on the team, no captain's position, no graduating with their friends. No chance to achieve the things that they had been waiting to achieve.  
  
Whatever the case, he was resentful. He had thought that they understood. That he had come to an age where they would trust him to make decisions about his own life. Apparently that was not the case.  
  
The anger within him, the kind of anger he had first felt last summer, nearly scorched him with its heat. This would be a terrible year.  
  
The only little bit of silver lining he could find was that they wouldn't have to face it in the company of any of the snakes.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. They were encouraging and inspiring! Here's where we see if you guessed right. I hope no one is too disappointed with the fourth arriving traveler.  
  
Chapter One  
**********  
  
Dawn scanned the crowd of people hurrying from the plane, all anxious to finally get to their destinations.  
  
Who could blame them? Trapped with a bunch of strangers in a flying metal tube for about a day. What a way to cross the ocean.  
  
According to J.J., there were much better ways to travel. At least there were for the people she was meeting.  
  
She supposed that they would not be in the best of moods, having to travel by conventional means to get to somewhere they probably did not want to go in the first place. Dawn would have to do her best to cheer them up.  
  
It was then that se spotted the group. J.J.'s descriptions hadn't been very flattering, but they'd been accurate enough.  
  
And upon seeing the two redheads in the group, the ones who sported hair the exact same shade as Willow's, Dawn finally understood why, when he had first met her, he had asked the Wiccan if she had been related to any Weasleys.  
  
As soon as they cleared the secure area, and entered the part of the airport where she was allowed to greet them, Dawn launched herself through the crowd, and into the arms of the dark-haired, bespectacled boy of the group.  
  
She'd had a few moments to think about who she'd start with as she had stood there watching him approach.  
  
The fact that she would be hugging at least one of them had been decided the moment Buffy had given her the task of picking them up. Dawn had been sent because she was their age. It wouldn't be strange for her to be picking up a group of friends, should anyone be observing them. But if they were being watched, she didn't want it to be obvious that she didn't know them.  
  
Hence the huggage.  
  
But what she had not decided on instantly was just which of the four she would hug. That was the decision that she had made during her wait.  
  
With what she had been told of the British teens, she had figured that Harry was probably the one that had been hugged the least.  
  
Well, he'd be living with the staff that comprised Champion Industries. And because hugging was a daily occurrence at the Hyperion, Dawn thought it best to get him used to the idea from the very start.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Harry Potter was quite surprised to find his arms full of teenage girl the moment he stepped past the security gate.  
  
Was this a perk upon arriving in America? Did every boy get his own attractive girl upon arrival? Probably not, or Ron would have had his arms full of girl as well, and he did not.  
  
After that, Harry stopped thinking and enjoyed the feeling of having someone in his arms.  
  
It wasn't that she was a girl his age, and attractive from what he could see of her, although that was certainly a plus.  
  
But it was the fact that he was being hugged at all that Harry was enjoying.  
  
He'd been embraced before, of course. By Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Cho.  
  
Yet it was still such a rare occurrence in his life that he tried to fully absorb every one, in case it never happened again.  
  
He had grown up with very little physical contact at the Dursley's, and he had just spent what he hoped had been his very last summer with them. It had felt like the longest yet.  
  
So he was relishing the human contact, having been so long without it. He might have stood there all day if Hermione's sharp, and very fake, cough hadn't turned his brain back on.   
  
The girl was hugging him for their cover, obviously, but it was nice all the same.   
  
He started to pull away from her, searching for the name of the girl they had been told to expect so he would not blow her charade.  
  
"Dawn!" he exclaimed with gusto. Even if he resented the position he was in, he would still give it all he had. Maybe if the Order saw that they were co-operating, they would be able to return to Hogwarts.  
  
"So good to see you."  
  
"You too!" she said to him as she finished backing away. "So, do you like the hair?" she asked, running a hand through it. "I know, it's different," she told him, taking in the puzzled looks on the faces of Harry's companions and giving whoever might be watching them a reason for it. "Maybe it's a little extreme, but there's a story behind it. We'll tell you on the ride back. Hi Ron!!"  
  
With the last, she threw herself at the tall redhead in the same way she had at Harry. At least he was more prepared for it.  
  
"Hey Dawn!" Ron picked the girl up and swung her in a circle, setting her back down and letting her go in a move that Harry had seen him do with his sister. "Great to see you."  
  
"You said we?" came Hermione's voice, sounding mildly jealous that another girl was being so familiar with her best friends. "Who's with you?"  
  
"Herm, Gin! Oh my Goddess, we have so much to talk about." As she spoke, Dawn approached the girls, grabbed each one by the hand, and started to drag them towards the baggage claim, talking the whole time. "J.J.'s in the car. I tried to get him to come in, but he just wouldn't. Although, at least with him in the car, it's in the loading zone instead of miles away in the parking lot. I can't wait till you see him. He's so different since you last saw him." Dawn chuckled to herself at that, as if enjoying a private joke.  
  
Hermione, who had always been quite quick to catch on, played along with the girl. "Really? Dawn, he can't have changed that much."  
  
"I'm telling you he has! You guys would be hard pressed to recognize him, I swear! Here we are," Dawn said loudly, stating the obvious. "Guys, grab the trunks while Ginny and I go grab some carts."  
  
Dawn grabbed the younger girl's hand to drag her off in another direction. It seemed that the American girl was making the effort to be equally friendly to all of them, and Ron was glad. He could tell his sister often felt out of place with him and his best friends, and he had been worried about her. At least he still had his friends with him. Ginny really had none of hers. For his sister's sake, he really hoped that not all of Dawn's friendliness was an act.  
  
The boys spotted the trunks on the baggage carousel and muscled them off while Hermione stood watching, and tossing a helpful comment their way every so often.  
  
As they were struggling to retrieve the last of them, Ginny and Dawn reappeared with carts that were remarkably like the ones at King's Cross. And they were giggling like small schoolgirls.  
  
Dawn was still snickering as she turned to speak to Ron. "You didn't really want a pair of plaid pants, did you?"  
  
Hermione started giggling as well, remembering the shopping incident from the day before. "He really did, Dawn. It took both Harry and myself to convince Ron that they were not the height of m . . . "She caught herself before she gave them away. "Mainstream fashion."  
  
"That's it, I'm letting Buffy take you boys shopping!"  
  
Harry laughed at the tone of her voice. "Should we be worried?"  
  
Dawn nodded. "My sister was quite the shop-a-holic the first time we lived in LA, and I'm afraid this time she has only gotten worse."  
  
"Uh oh, Ron, I think we're in trouble."  
  
"Sounds like it," the redhead answered with a smile on his face.  
  
Harry was having a good time with Dawn in spite of himself, and forgot for a moment that he didn't want to be where he was. At least it wasn't all bad.  
  
"What about us?" Ginny asked Dawn. "I'd like to go shopping as well."  
  
"We'll go, of course. But for us, shopping with Buffy will be fun. It's only going to be torture for the boys. They should be lucky it's not Cordelia, though!" Dawn stopped walking suddenly, the expression on her face changing completely. Harry wondered what brought about the change, but before he could ponder it any further, she started walking again.  
  
"Never mind." She shook herself, as if trying to shake off a nightmare. "The minute she's up to it, I'm sure Cordy will take us out one at a time so she can catch up. She loves to shop."  
  
The teen glanced up then, as her last words had found her looking at the ground. She saw that their driver had managed to get a spot right in front of the doors, which they were now just a few feet from.  
  
He had climbed out of the driver's seat and opened the trunk, having seen them approaching. Dawn quickly glanced at their luggage, hoping that it would all fit. It was the reason that they had brought the convertible, more trunk space.  
  
J.J. was currently leaning against the side of the car, sunglasses on, booted feet crossed at the ankles, sneer on his face, looking for all the world like the man who had been the reason Xander has christened him J.J. in the first place.  
  
In fact, the only differences that Dawn could see were the colors in his hair, the missing duster, and the sun glinting off of his shades. She had never seen the other man in the sun.  
  
The doors opened and the group stepped out into the setting sun, getting a look at their driver for the first time.  
  
Seeing him, Harry realized why Dawn had found it so funny to be talking about them seeing her companion and being shocked at the changes in him.  
  
Because standing by the car, looking every bit the angst ridden, American, muggle teenager, was someone he hadn't seen since the first term of his sixth year. And he was almost unrecognizable.  
  
"Malfoy!!" exclaimed he and Ron in unison. The girls appeared too shocked to speak at all.  
  
  
A/N #2: I wanted to stick this note on the bottom of the chapter so as not to spoil it! This is AU for BtVS season 7, and future fic HP. Draco was with the Scoobies for most of season 7, and you'll see the repercussions of that in upcoming chapters.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: So sorry that this took so long to update. I broke my collarbone, and haven't really been able to type until this week. Add to that that I had a hard time getting this chapter right (I'm still feeling iffy on it) . . . I'll try to update more often in the future! Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews.

Chapter Two

**********

"They've arrived."

Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmaster, had barely entered the office when she heard Albus Dumbledore's words. 

"How can you be so sure, Albus? They would have only just arrived at the airport."

"I know that we were advised to send them alone, so as not to attract undue attention, but you don't honestly think that I would have left them unaccompanied until they were actually in the hands of their new protectors, do you? Harry has already lost far too much to this war. I won't have him losing his life as well. Nor would I willingly allow anything too happen to any of my students. I sent one of the Order to keep an eye on them until they were safely settled in America."

"Are you sure that we can trust these people?" The transfiguration professor had yet to sit, and her posture conveyed her apprehension. "Albus, we don't know these Americans at all. The tales of the things that they have done have been thought of as nothing more than myth. Most of the people of our world don't even believe that the Slayer exists."

Dumbledore rose form his seat, circling his desk to lay a comforting hand on her arm. "But those of us in the highest positions have affiliations with the Slayer's Watcher's Council, as you well know." He paused for a moment, a frown passing over his face, vanishing as quickly as it had come. "Had would actually be a more appropriate word, I would imagine." He led the other professor to a chair, and returned to his own.

"The simple fact of the matter, Minerva, is that our world does not have the resources to deal with the tactics we fear that Voldemort will use this time. The things that have been foreseen, the aurors can not deal with alone. The children are not prepared for the dangers that are coming. We have not been able to keep a Dark Arts teacher, and those that we have had have yet to discuss anything anywhere near this kind of a threat in their classes. Our world has not had to deal with such a thing because of the presence of the Slayer, and the confidence that the Ministry of Magic has always had in her abilities. We are ill equipped to handle the things that have always been considered the things of nightmares." He paused, folding his hands over each other on his desktop.

"But these people are more than prepared to handle what we fear is coming. Even if half of what they are said to have done is myth, they would still be better at protecting those children than even I would be in the same situation."

"You do think that some of it is a myth, then?" McGonagall was now wringing her hands in an outward display of her anxiety.

"Not for one moment," the headmaster answered soundly. "In fact, I think all of the tales we have heard tell only a portion of the things those young people have accomplished, of the evil they have faced."

"You do believe." The woman seemed in awe. "You believe that not only this Slayer, but her friends, that they have been chosen to help win this war."

"There is no doubt in my mind, Minerva, that they have been hand picked for this by a power far greater than us. Have faith in them to be up to the task, for I do." He picked up his candy dish and held it out to his fellow professor. "Lemon drop?"

And with that Minerva McGonagall knew that the discussion had come to an end. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Giles was pacing around the library of the Hyperion Hotel. The hotel had once housed Angel Investigations, but the company had moved to the offices that they had been given by Wolfram + Hart. As such, the hotel had been empty when the busload of survivors from the destruction of the hellmouth in Sunnydale had needed a place to call home. And home it now was. The home of Champion Industries, the company formed by those who had lived through the battle with The First. 

The pacing of the one time librarian had been brought about, as usual, by worry for his young associates. This time, it was worry for two of the youngest, who had set out to start a mission handed over to the Scoobies by Angel

There were certain things that Angel could not bring himself to trust his staff at Wolfram + Hart with. One of those things was the messages that he still received from The Powers That Be. But Buffy had always been someone that he could trust. So he came to her when he needed help to respond to the visions.

Lorne had found that he could read the visions that Cordelia was still receiving. Even though she remained in a coma, she was still Angel's link to The Powers. 

In fact, she was receiving even more visions in her comatose state. So many that even with Angel's people and Buffy's working on them, forcing Buffy to finally accept that Dawn could hold her own, and be part of the team. After all, as busy as they had been, they had needed all the help that they could get. Dawn was finally a full fledged member of the Scoobies, instead of just a tag along.

After Draco had shown up, it had been increasingly harder for the blonde slayer to convince Dawn that she was too young to go into battle with them. With the threat of the first, Buffy could no longer leave the teenagers out completely, but she had tried to keep them off of the "front lines" of the battle and the danger. She had been fairly successful at keeping both the wizard and the key involved in the safer side of the fight, doing the research that had always proved valuable in their fight against evil. 

That had been until Angel had entrusted them with the visions and they had formed Champion Industries. After Angel had recruited them to help protect his city, Buffy thought long and hard about how to support herself, her charges, and still due her duty. She thought about how Angel had had Angel Investigations, and how Anya had once told her to charge for her services. The Slayer decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing, and Champion Industries was born. 

It was when they had started the business that the slayer found that the teens were no longer satisfied staying on the sidelines doing research. Buffy fought it until Draco's wand and Dawn's aim with a crossbow saved the others at a critical moment during an important case. They were now as much a part of the team as anyone.

This was, however, their first official solo mission in the field. It made Giles nervous. Add to that that it was a vision, from The Powers, a thing they had learned to be wary of. The result? Giles wearing a path in the library floor with his pacing.

It wasn't unusual to find the watcher pacing in the library when he wasn't out fighting with the others. It was even more common for him to be found there when his 'children' were out on a mission for The Powers.

The fact that they had been given the mission through a vision by the mighty powers may have been reassuring to Dumbledore. But would the Headmaster of Hogwarts have had second thoughts about blindly trusting a 'higher power' if he knew that the very people meant to be chosen by that same 'higher power' had very large misgivings about 'The Powers That Be'?

The group that had once been known as the Scoobies were still adjusting to the things that had happened in the last year, and they were no longer blindly trusting the PTB's, as they called them.

The memory of Jasmine, and her claim that to be one of those very powers, yet proving to be anything but on the side of good, was still fresh in the mind of Angel Investigations.

And although the group that now occupied the hotel had heard the stories second hand, their trust of the PTB's had vanished almost completely. What had happened caused them to wonder and worry every time they followed up on a vision. They would always wonder if the Powers were setting them up for another "takeover" as Buffy put it. But they were there to "Help the Helpless" as Cordelia had always said. So, they did as AI had always done, and followed through on the visions.

But there was always that chance . . . and that what made Giles worry. And pace.

Usually.

But not this time.

The watcher paused in his movements, turning towards the table and reaching for the notes that lay there. He read them over, sighing as he laid them down. They were proof that this time was different. Proof that the people in this vision were really in trouble.

All it had taken to know that this vision was genuine was one look at Draco's, better known to the group as JJ, face to realize it. As soon as Lorne had said the name Voldemort and described the teens being attacked in the vision, all of the color had disappeared from the boy's countenance, a look of dread settling into his eyes.

After recovering from the shock, JJ had told them why the vision had affected him in that way. The teens were real. JJ identified them right away. And it had been no surprise to him that they were being attacked, and that Voldemort had been involved.

He had haltingly told the tale of Voldemort. Of the path of destruction the Dark Lord had left behind him. Of the wizard's obsessive desire to kill Harry Potter. 

Giles had taken notes, knowing that he would rather not have to ask JJ to repeat any of the story that he found so hard to tell. 

JJ told them things that he had never told them before. He told them about the dark side of the wizarding world where he had been born and raised. They learned about his years at Hogwarts, about all of the attacks by Voldemort on Harry Potter, including the one that had gotten Lucius Malfoy imprisoned. The whole truth of how he had ended up in Sunnydale came out, as opposed to the watered-down version he had told them when first arriving. His past had been something that he had been very reluctant to talk about. But JJ was a team player, and the rest of Champion Industries needed to know all they could of they were going to stop Voldemort.

So he told them. Everything he could think of. Including how he had been brought up to be a Death Eater. How he had been taught to hate mudbloods, and muggles, and all things good. How he had learned from his father to hate Harry Potter above all.

The very boy who was on his way to L.A., with three of his best friends, in order to be protected. Dawn had been delegated the job of picking them up. And she had talked JJ into going with her. To meet up with a boy he had been taught to despise.

On this occasion, it was JJ's past that had Giles worried.

Would the old enmity between the boys send the children who needed protection running the other way? Would they refuse to comply with the plans their headmaster had made when they found out that their old arch rival would be one of the ones trusted to protect them?

Giles could only hope that the teenagers would look give JJ a chance to show them that the time he had spent in America had changed his beliefs as much as it had changed his appearance. 


	4. Chapter 3

A/N Thanks for the reviews, guys. It's nice to know that people are still reading. My collar bone is healing up, so hopefully I'll be posting more often. Sorry about the delay.

Chapter Three

*****************

The group of six teens stood in the now setting Californian sunshine, the four new arrivals shocked into immobility.

It had been quite a mystery around Hogwarts when Draco Malfoy had disappeared early in his sixth year. His sudden absence had been fodder for the school's gossip mill for months, everyone seeming to have a different theory on his vanishing right before Christmas. After it had been discovered that his father Lucius had broken out of Azkaban with the help of Voldemort and the dementors, Harry and a lot of others had assumed that Draco had run off to join the Death Eaters.

Why was he here, then? In L.A.? With the girl who was a part of the group that Dumbledore had sent them to? These people were supposed to protect him, protect them!

How was he to trust people that associated with Draco Malfoy? Even if he looked like an entirely different person. Malfoys didn't change.

And if Harry had been right in his deduction of the events surrounding the Slytherin's sudden departure from Hogwarts, Lucius Malfoy was near at hand, having escaped and reclaimed his heir.

Was this all an elaborate trap? Had Dumbledore just sent them into the clutches of a group of Death Eaters? How would they escape?

The rivals stood there glaring at each other, neither one looking to be the one to speak first.

Dawn was becoming tired of the stalemate, and decided that something needed to be done, especially since the sun was nearly set.

The girl walked up to her friend, poking him in the ribs with a finger while running her other hand through her multi-colored hair.

"Stop staring, J.J. You knew they were coming. Get the car loaded and let's get out of here. Sun's nearly gone."

"What do I look like, sunshine, a bloody house elf?? They can load their own junk."

Harry looked like he was going to protest, but Dawn jumped in before he could speak. Her careless mention of Cordelia had soured her mood, and the sullen boys were not doing anything to improve it.

"Forget it. I'll do it myself if I have to!! The car might as well have Scourge of Europe written on its side, and I don't feel like being out in it with four out-of-towners when the sun sets and somebody decides that we'd be a good way to make a name for themselves." With that, she grabbed a handle on the nearest trunk and hauled it over to the back of the car.

The four newly arrived teens stared at each other in surprised silence, unsure of what to do. The girl had been in such a good mood just a few minutes ago. Then again, Draco Malfoy was enough to put anyone in a foul mood. And what had she meant by Scourge of Europe. It sounded vaguely familiar. Harry was the first to recover from his stupor, and he put a restraining hand on her arm.

"I am not going anywhere until I know why Malfoy is with you. The last we heard of him, he disappeared right around the same time as his father. For all I know, you all work for Lucius Malfoy."

Dawn dropped the luggage that she was hauling and turned angrily towards the boy-who-lived. "Shut up and get in the car! Do you really think that Dumbledore could be fooled by Lucius?" She almost sneered the name, venom in her voice. "Would he really send you to a bunch of Death Eaters? Now you have two choices. You get in the car, then you can ask your questions in a polite manner, and I might choose to answer them. Or you stay here and hope that someone can come and get you and you pray that your real enemies don't send some of the local baddies after you before your next babysitters show up!"

The quartet looked at her for a full minute with no one saying a word. Draco was impressed with her. It was such a rare occurrence for the four most annoying Gryffindors to be stunned into silence.

Hermione was the first to speak. Draco wasn't surprised by that. Granger always had been the one with all of the brains in the group. The Gryffindor prefect laid a hand on Harry's arm in a comforting gesture.

"She's right, Harry. You know that the Order would never have let us come here if it wasn't safe. Besides, Dumbledore must have known that Malfoy was here."

"Of course he did, Granger!" he sneered at her. The four other Hogwarts students took his sneer for what it had always meant, utter disdain for her and the fact that she wasn't a 'pure-blood'.

But Dawn knew the truth. He hated the name Malfoy. Hated being associated with his biological father in any way. And these teens never seemed to call him anything else.

"Who do you think sent me here? Get your trunks into the care. We should get to the hotel before dark. Dawn's right, the car is a target."

Harry tried to resist, but seeing the look on Hermione's face, and knowing that Dumbledore trusted the Slytherin, even if Harry didn't, was enough to get him moving.

The teens quickly had their things in the car, and crowded in. Harry and Ron got into the back with Hermione, while Ginny sat up front beside Dawn and Draco, who was driving.

Dawn was pressed up against his side, the boys in the rear glaring daggers into the back of her head. The girl had seemed so nice, and had been lovely to hug. How could she be friendly with Malfoy, of all people?

The Hogwarts girls could feel the tension levels rising in the car, and were struggling to find ways to get rid of it.

"So where did you learn to drive?" Hermione asked as a way to break the oppressing silence.

"Well, thankfully not Buffy!" Dawn answered, a giggle coming from her lips, and a chuckle from Draco's. "Although, considering how many times they had to put back up the Sunnydale sign, learning to drive from Spike might not have been the best way either!"

Her face fell as she realized what she had just said, but before Draco could think of something to lift her spirits, Harry spoke.

"I'm surprised that such a completely muggle activity isn't beneath you," he mocked from the backseat.

Normally Draco would have retaliated at a comment like that, especially coming from St. Potter. In fact, his mouth was just opening, a half formed retort at his lips, when he heard Dawn snicker. He couldn't bring himself to put down his nemesis after that, because even if he'd been insulted, Potter had managed to save Dawn's mood before she could slide into an Angel-style brood over her mention of Spike.

"It's just a cheap replacement for her broomstick." Her snicker got louder as she spoke, threatening to turn into a full fledged case of the Summer's girl giggles. "He can't ride it much here, and he missed the feeling of wind in his hair. The boy has a need for speed!"

"Shut up, Summers."

"Bite me . . ." she looked at him sideways, and he became worried about what she was going to say next. 'Junior!"

With that she broke down completely, leaving the others in the car wondering what in the world the American found so funny.

"Oh, hardy har har. Well, according to Xander, you like biting. After all, there was that one Halloween . . . "

Dawn had recovered enough to slap a hand over his mouth before he could finish the sentence. "We really don't want to start playing reveal the secrets, now do we J.J." She cast a sideways glance at Ginny, Draco noticing the direction of her gaze.

"I don't know," he answered after finally getting her hand off of her mouth, "might be worth it. I think you have more secrets than I do."

Ginny glanced at the two of them from her position pressed up against the passenger door. She was nervous, never having liked muggles forms of travel, and the two of them were behaving rather like Ron and herself when they were having one of their famous Weasley sibling fights. Ginny knew how distracted they could get during their rows, and Ginny didn't want Draco's attention away from the road. The young redhead searched for a way to get Dawn's attention off of Draco.

"So, when do you think we'll get to go shopping, Dawn? I hear that Beverly Hills has the best shopping in the country."

"Oh, yeah! But with the prices, it's mostly good window shopping. Don't worry, though, Buffy knows where to go to get the deals."  
Ginny searched her mind for something to keep Dawn involved in the conversation, and keep her from distracting Draco. Then the youngest, Weasley remembered another person that Dawn had mentioned while talking about shopping.

"What about Cordelia? Was that her name? Will she be shopping with us too?"

Both Dawn and Draco stiffened visibly at the name, the girl almost flinching in pain as well. "Could be awhile." She suddenly learned over Ginny towards the glove box popping it open.

"You talked about Cordelia too?" Draco asked her, getting no response other than a faint nod of her head before she loudly changed the subject.

"You know one completely muggle thing that J.J. does like, Harry? My music!" She was almost laying on Ginny's lap while rummaging through the collection of CD's in the glove compartment. "What's in here that we can listen too?"

Draco shot a glare at Ginny over Dawn's bent back, angry that she'd brought the seer up. It wasn't really her fault, but he wanted somebody concrete to be angry at.

Now he knew why Dawn had snapped at them at the airport. She had brought up Cordelia, while talking about shopping. Probably without even realizing it. And when she did, she had probably kicked herself, like she had been about to about Spike. He laid a hand on his friend's back, giving her silent comfort.

Ginny shrugged, not knowing what she had done, and turned away from them to glare out at the passing buildings of Los Angeles.

Hermione noticed all of the tension in the front seat, realizing that it was the mention of Cordelia that had brought it on. Her questioning mind wondered why that was.

By now, even Ron had noticed the tension in the car. "What's so great about muggle music?"

Even Harry and Hermione had to roll their eyes at that.

"Have you never heard muggle music?" Dawn asked, her head still nearly buried in the glove buried in the glove box. "A ha! Here's one!"

She grabbed a CD and sat up in her seat. 

"Nope," Ron answered her. "I've never really been in the muggle world before."

"You don't know what you're missing!" They had stopped for a red light, and Dawn took the opportunity to thrust the case she was holding in front of Draco's face for him to see. "Can you believe that he's got the soundtrack to Queen of the Damned in his car? I bet Xander put it in here to make him mad."

Draco laughed, "Yes, that would be something that Xander would do, wouldn't it?"

The four Gryffindors from Hogwarts didn't know which confused them more, the fact that Draco Malfoy was laughing, or what was funny enough about the CD to make him laugh.

Ginny had heard him laugh before, but it had always been in cruelty, with his eyes cold. Like all of those times when he and his goons would cut her down for being the 'baby Weasel'.

But she could see his eyes when he laughed with Dawn. There was a gleam in them different from anything she'd seen there before, given her limited experience with the boy. But it was enough to make Ginny wonder if maybe the differences in Draco Malfoy were more than just skin deep.

The four newcomers jumped as music suddenly filled the air. They had been so preoccupied wondering about the Slytherin that they hadn't noticed Dawn slipping the CD into the deck.

"Now check this out Ron," she yelled over the music.

What happened next shocked the four Gryffindors more than anything that had happened since Dumbledore informed them that they wouldn't be spending the year at Hogwarts.

The vocals of the song started, and Dawn began singing along.

"I'm over it . . . "

Then the girl elbowed Draco in the side, and he joined in.

"You see I'm falling in the vast abyss, clouded by memories of the past, at last I see. . . "

The two continued singing, oblivious to the stares of the four other occupants in the car, as the car continued on its way to the Hyperion.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry about the delay, folks! Hope your still reading. I know it's a short chapter, but there's more to come soon!  
  
Chapter Four  
**********  
  
Buffy Summers, original Slayer and one of the founders of Champion Industries, walked into the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel, base of operations for CI.  
  
The reception area had changed very little since it had been the home of Angel Investigations. The only thing that made it different were the small personal touches here and there.  
  
And, of course, the dark haired slayer who was dancing around the lobby in time to the music blaring from her headphones.  
  
Faith, the last slayer who would ever be called in the traditional way, had been in the Hyperion Hotel before, of course. But she had been running from the law, then. Wary. Guarded.  
  
She wouldn't have been bopping happily to music. Seeing Faith with that kind of freedom was one of the best perks they had received from Angel inheriting Wolfram Hart.  
  
Prison had changed Faith, for the better. The dark slayer had changed into someone Buffy respected, and, even more surprising, liked.  
  
But prison had done all it could for Faith. Sending her back there would benefit no one. There were better ways for the girl to earn redemption, for her to atone for her sins. And she was proving that she could do them at Champion Industries.  
  
So Buffy was glad she was there. Even if her idea of manning the phones was gyrating around the lobby to overly loud music.  
  
Normally Buffy or Dawn did the public relations thing, but Buffy had had a meeting with Angel to turn in her "Vision Report", ad they had taken to calling it. And Dawn was out with Draco on their first solo mission. Speaking of which . . .  
  
"Faith!" Buffy called, ducking to avoid the fist the other slayer had flung out the last time Buffy had surprised the girl while she was listening to her music.  
  
The brunette turned and laughed when she took in Buffy's crouched position. "I heard you come in, B. Learned my lesson that time that I was Oz sitting." Buffy stood up and straightened her clothes, rolling her eyes at the other girl. "Can't let myself be snuck up on, now can I? Honed that in prison. Never know who could wander through the door."  
  
"Speaking of people that ought to be wondering through the door, shouldn't Dawn and J.J. be back by now? Harmony told me that the W H people got all the paperwork done. So the kids will all be off to school tomorrow. They might need clothes or something."  
  
As if it was on cue, the phone at the reception desk started to ring. Buffy moved to answer it, but the other slayer was closer, and got to it first.  
  
"Champion Industries, let us be your champions."  
  
Buffy was still surprised at how professional Faith could manage to sound when she tried.  
  
"Yeah, kid. She just walked in the door, and she's already pitching a fit."  
  
She set the receiver down, and turned to Buffy. "It's the kids."  
  
A faint "We are not," could be heard through the phone.  
  
The blonde picked up the phone, but was interrupted before she could get a complete word out. "I called the second the sun set. The plane was late . . ."  
  
Buffy's slayer hearing picked up a voice with a distinct British accent mutter "That's what you get when you resort to muggle forms of travel."  
  
"Shut up! So, flight was late, and traffic is crazy. We'll be home as soon as we can."  
  
Buffy thought about it for a moment. She remembered the clothes that Draco Malfoy had had with him when he had landed on her doorstep in Sunnydale. Dawn would never forgive her if she made her go to school with people that didn't dress right. "Dawn, are you and J.J. armed?"  
  
"Armed to the teeth." Buffy could hear the young man they called J.J. laugh in the background, but the cell phone could not show her the shocked expressions of the other teens. They could not believe that this was Draco laughing. In fact, it was hard to believe that the boy was Draco Malfoy at all.  
  
"And we're in the Angelmobile, so the car's stocked too."  
  
Buffy's mouth dropped open at that. Angel would kill her if anything would happen to that car. It really didn't matter that he had a whole motor pool at his disposal, that car was still his baby. And the kids had been told to take the company van that CI had recently acquired. "We'll be having a talk about that when you get home." Dawn started to protest, but her sister interrupted before the younger girl said anything that would make Buffy change her mind about what she was going to say. "But first, Harmony got all the paperwork done today. Since the others are going to start school tomorrow, I'd suggest a trip to the mall for some necessities." Buffy's sensitive ears protested at her sister's answering squeal. "You guys have the company card?"  
  
"You betcha!"  
  
"Well, just the absolute necessities. It's dark already. We'll go again on the weekend." The blonde was almost ready to hang up the phone when she remembered one last thing. "Put the top up on that car!"  
  
"Yes ma'am!"  
  
"Be back soon." With that final instruction, Buffy hung up the phone.  
  
The slayer heard Faith chuckle behind her and turned to face the girl.  
  
"I can't believe you sent her shopping in L.A. with the company credit card."  
  
"I know."  
  
"And that you trusted them to protect those kids after dark."  
  
"I hope I did the right thing," Buffy answered, rubbing the bridge of her nose in a manner very reminiscent of her watcher.  
  
"You did. Gotta cut the apron strings sometime, B. They're both older than we were when we started this fight."  
  
Buffy nodded, knowing that Faith meant older in a way that had nothing to do with age.


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: See what a couple of reviews do? It's like a drug! It makes me write. So, here's what you've been waiting for, the reason Draco is called J.J.

Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I feel blessed that people read my work.

Chapter Five

*************

Angel had been expecting a visitor since the moment Buffy had stepped outside of his office after their meeting.

It was a well known fact of life that there were eyes everywhere at Wolfram + Hart. The former Angel Investigations crew was always aware that every conference was subject to silent observers. But never was this more true than when Buffy Summers was one of the participants.

Just when Angel was beginning to think that his private meeting had actually been private, the person that the vampire had been expecting appeared.

And although appeared was a more than apt description of the way in which Angel's visitor entered the office, person was no longer the correct term. In actuality, it hadn't been the correct term for more than a century.

Not that vampire could be used anymore either. Then again, ghost wasn't exactly the term for him, according to Fred. But whatever he was, he was still a thorn in Angel's side.

"Spike. I was expecting you about ten minutes ago. The second Buffy closed the door, actually."

"Well, had to make sure the Slayer was good and gone. Wouldn't do to have her walking in and seeing me." The blonde walked over to the couch and flopped on it, still somewhat amazed that he managed to sit on it instead of falling through it. "Besides, after what I just heard, I was trying to talk myself out of attempting to bust off enough of that wooden chair there to end you, good and proper."

"Spike, you should just let me tell her . . ."

"Sod off! I told you no." Spike didn't want the slayer to know that he was around. Fred had no idea how long it might be before he disappeared for good, and there was no way of knowing if she could discover another way to make him corporeal before his time was up. Not that he regretted saving the girl's life. But it was easier on Buffy and the others this way. They were dealing with his death. He didn't want them to see him, just to have to loose him all over again when he was gone for good.

Angel, knowing that he would get nowhere with his grandchilde on the subject, turned his attention to second half of Spike's statement.

"Wow, Spike, dusting as opposed to simple dismemberment. I must have really pissed you off today."

Spike stormed to his feet and approached Angel, who was seated behind his desk. "Damned right, Peaches! How in the world could you give them that vision to deal with? Do you have any idea the danger you put them in? Did you even think about it?" He took in Angel's mildly confused expression. "Of course not. You just needed to be the bloody hero. And since good old Wolfram + Hart can't be trusted with the big stuff, you pawn it off on the Slayers. And letting the bit and the dragon work solo? Slayer's lost her bloody mind!" Spike strode angrily away from Angel, then back towards him. "I may not have a body, but if anything happens to my kids, I'll find a way to dust you. If it's the last thing I do before I get dragged down to hell, I'll take you with me."

Angel stood from his chair and circled around Spike, stopping the blonde in his pacing in order to look into his blue eyes. "Your kids?"

"Yeah, Peaches. Dawn and Draco. They're mine, mine to protect. I swore to the Slayer that I'd protect Dawn with my life. And Draco, he's like my son. Closest I'll ever get, anyways."

"Your son?!" Angel was shocked by Spike's declaration. He knew how protective Spike had been of Dawn, especially since loosing Buffy in the battle with Glory. But he had had no idea that Spike cared that much for the teenaged boy that Buffy now found herself the guardian of.

Spike sat again, his anger diffused by the thought of the young wizard. "Never had a childe. Minions, yeah, sure. But never a childe. Not like I was to Dru. Not like she was to you." He looked up at his grandsire. "Thing about Draco is, he wanted to be mine." Angel sat down, and the two rivals faced each other. "Have you met him yet?"

Angel nodded, "Just once, and not for very long. The day that they moved into the hotel." 

"Boy's just like me, so Xander says. Blonde, slicked hair. Snarky attitude. English. Fan of the black clothes."

Angel watched Spike run a hand through his own blonde locks at the memories. Now that Spike had pointed it out, Angel thought back to the boy, and could see the resemblance.

"Chubs started calling him Deadboy Junior Junior straight away. The others agreed that there were similarities, and would call him Junior Junior." Spike shook his head and examined his hands, as if he still had trouble believing the story he was telling. "'Course, that was too long, and Red and Niblet started calling him J.J. Thing about it was, the kid never minded it. Not once."

Spike turned to face Angel, a look of bewilderment in his bright blue eyes. "So, I asked him about it once, why he didn't mind. He told me that he'd been called Junior all his life. Malfoy Junior, but Junior nonetheless. But being named after me, being my junior? He told me that it was the first time in his life that he didn't mind. The only time it made him proud instead of ashamed."

The blonde stood up and started pacing again. He and Angel had never been close, and he felt uncomfortable sharing these things with the older vampire. But his grandsire was the only one who would understand the bond he felt. It was as if he had sired Draco himself. "This mission, these people. They're the ones he ran from, Angel. The ones he came to us to hide from. If they find Potter, which is their number one priority, they'll find my J.J. And they will take him back to his biological father."

He turned back to Angel, and the look in his eyes told of the reason he was one of the brutal Scourge of Europe. "He's mine now. He told me so that day that I . . . " Spike couldn't quite say died. "Left. He told me that I was all the father that he'd ever want. I can't let Malfoy have him back."

Angel stood and faced Spike, wishing he could lay a comforting hand on his grandchilde's shoulder.

"We may have our differences, Spike. And we may have tried to kill each other. But we're still family, you and I. And that makes your child part of my family. I fight for what's right for mine. I won't let them take him, or hurt him. I won't let them take the boy you consider a son."

Angel sighed and strode out of his office, his mind heavy with thoughts of his own son. The one that, thanks to Wolfram + Hart and his own altruistic sacrifice, no one remembered. 'I won't let you loose J.J., Spike,' the vampire thought to himself. 'Not like I lost Connor.'


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry about the delay. Busy like a bee lately. Thanks and hugs and puppies to all of my wonderful reviewers. I'll say it before and I'll say it again, reviews are food for the writer's soul. It's the only payment we get for writing fanfic, so it is always more than appreciated!

Chapter Six

************

Draco leaned against the wall by the dressing room, huffing in annoyance.

Potter wouldn't take the advice he had tried to offer them about dressing to fit in at an American high school. After all, the Golden Boy had pointed out, he was the only one of the boys that was muggle born.

Of course, to Draco's eyes, it really didn't make a bit of difference if Potter had been raised by the Dursley's. All of his muggle clothes looked as if they had been handed down to him by someone roughly the size of a gorilla.

And Weasley, of course, was a Weasley. His clothes had been worn by at least one, if not all, of his brothers. Well, maybe not all of his brothers, Draco conceded to himself. Weasel had grown enough that he was larger than more than one of his brothers, and he now was nearing the size of whoever had given Potter his hand me downs.

Maybe Potter should just give the Weasel all of his clothes.

Of course, that would only take care of the size issue. There was still the matter of style to discuss. But, not surprisingly, the two thirds of the Gryffindor trio that he had been left to clothe wouldn't take a Malfoy's advice on anything, never mind anything muggle. Forget that he had spent the better part of a year with two overly fashion conscious Californian women. And there were also the multitude of other girls who had straggled into their lives and their home before that final fight. And more than one of them liked to pore over fashion magazines.

But no, Malfoy couldn't know what he was talking about. Potter must know better. Never could a Malfoy know something muggle. Especially if they claimed to know more about said muggle thing than St. Potter.

Even if Draco himself was currently clothed like a muggle GQ cover model, complete with the jacket he had put on to hide his arm from the others, he couldn't know about clothes. Potter, on the other hand, looked much like Weasley, as if he had never had any muggle clothing that hadn't been given to him after they had been outgrown by someone else. 

He really wished that Dawn hadn't gone off with the girls. She might have had better luck with clothing the two other boys in something fashionable. After all, it had been Dawn that had taught him how to dress. But she insisted that Buffy wanted them home, so they had to split up to make things go faster.

Surely she'd been wrong. It couldn't be faster this way. Draco felt as if he had been there forever. 

His inner rant was interrupted by sharp voices in the dressing room, and the young wizard came crashing back to reality.

"I'm telling you they're fine! Muggle teens wear them all the time. It's not just an undershirt."

The door to the closest dressing room was flung open, and the redhead within was pushed out forcefully. "Ron, seriously! You were dressed like my Uncle Vernon on a weekend. Now, at least, you are wearing something that a normal teenager would wear."

Draco looked the other boy over, and had to grudgingly admit that it was a vast improvement. Weasel now looked like your typical American jock. The white t-shirt he wore was snug over the muscles that he had built up from playing Quidditch, and he was wearing the American teen staple, blue jeans. The gorilla actually looked okay. Not terribly fashionable, but he looked like any average football player that attended their school.

Potter didn't look much different, actually. Draco was just grateful that, as much as the other boys were dressed like typical jocks, they had both opted to keep the boots that were the regular Hogwarts attire instead of switching to sports shoes. Dawn thought that the only time those shoes should ever be worn were for gym and for training sessions.

"But this shirt! I always wear another one over a shirt like this! Won't I get cold?"

Draco answered before Harry could. "It's warm here, even during the winter. Warmer in December than most summers back home, Weas . . . ley." The one time blonde used the redhead's full name, knowing that Dawn would hate it if she heard him use the names he usually called them. She had admonished him for them when he had discussed his rivals before, and she had made him promise not to do it to their faces. 

Still, he couldn't bring himself to call them by their first names, even knowing that he would have to do it in school. It was too intimate a thing.

Hell, he hadn't even called any of his housemates at school by their given names. Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson . . . he was hard pressed to remember if he had ever used anyone's first name before Sunnydale.

There were few people that had the honour of being so addressed by him, even now. Dawn. Buffy. Willow. Xander. Anya, but she was gone now. Faith.  

And Spike. But what else could he have ever called the vampire? He never let anyone know his last name. And he just wasn't the kind of guy to give endearments to. Even if he had been the only man Draco had ever wanted to call Dad. Dad was never a thing he could have called Lucius Malfoy. Father, yes, but never Dad. But Spike? Draco wished that Spike had been around long enough to accept being called Dad.

He was thinking about the elder Malfoy, and how he didn't even feel like a Malfoy any longer, when he was addressed by that name in Potter's annoying voice. The name brought him back to the present with an alarming snap.

This outing was making him maudlin. Shopping with the enemy. Dawn owed him one. Or a thousand.

"What?" Draco demanded sharply. He hated being called Malfoy. That wasn't who he was anymore, even in school. Where they were going tomorrow. And, knowing Buffy, she'd skin them alive if they were out late on a school night.

"How many outfits are we supposed to get?" Harry questioned snidely in response. "I want to get out of here as much as you do."

Draco glared at the pile of clothes that his rivals were carrying in their arms. "That should do it. Buffy'll want to shop for you two on the weekend. The makeover, one of the sadistic joys in her life."

"So, that's what happened to your head, then? Figured it must be some kind of punishment. Always were overly proud of the platinum locks."

Ron was unceremoniously shoved against the wall with surprising force by the smaller Draco before he even finished speaking, his clothes flying to the floor. He glared down at the former Slytherin, prepared to come to blows. What he saw in the other boy's eyes stopped him, though, before his legendary temper could finish igniting. The look in them was the look that Harry got whenever someone offhandedly mentioned Sirius in the conversation. 

Before Ron could decipher why the fact that there was pain in Draco's eyes would matter enough to stop him from pummelling the boy, Draco was speaking. "You ever mention my hair again, Weasel, or anything else unusual about me, and I'll drag you to the basement at Wolfram and Hart."

He abruptly let the larger boy go, picking up the things he had made Ron drop and heading with them towards the cashier, leaving the other boys flabbergasted. They didn't know what to make of what just happened. They looked at each other, silently asking a multitude of questions. Why hadn't he threatened them with Voldemort or his father? Why did he let Ron go without taking a swing at him? What was Wolfram and Hart? Why was the basement so scary? Why had he picked up Ron's things, something that could be considered a human gesture? And why, above all, was he so touchy about something as simple as his hair?

Draco handed the cashier the clothes and fished out the company card from his wallet, indicating that Harry's things and the clothes that the boys were wearing should be added to the bill as well. The cashier, who had looked as if she was going to call security at the minor confrontation, had paled at the mention of Wolfram and Hart, and was now treating Draco with the terrified respect that Harry had seen shopkeepers in Diagon Alley give to Lucius. What was that place?

While the girl finished with their purchases, the Slytherin boy reached into his pocket, Harry's eyes widening in shock as he pulled out a muggle cell phone and punched in a number, raising the phone to his ear.  

"Is that another fellytone, like Dawn's?" Ron whispered at Harry. The boys were nearly afraid to speak, not knowing what would set off Draco's temper. Given the cashiers lack of response, Ron surmised that the device was a muggle convention, rather than a magically enhanced version, as he had assumed Dawn's had been in the car.

Harry realized that Ron's only experience with muggle phones hadn't included a cellular phone.  No wonder he had been somewhat surprised at Dawn's call from the car. He had probably wondered where the cords had gone!

"Telephone, Ron. Yes, it's a cellular phone." They were beginning to get strange looks from the cashier, as if she had heard them. "I'm sure Hermione will explain."

Draco pocketed his phone, having finished his conversation, and signed for the purchases.

"We're supposed to meet the girls in the food court." Draco nearly laughed at the expression on the other boys' faces. Even Harry, who was a muggle, had been surprised by a lot of things in the Californian mall, and he imagined they had never seen a food court. "Weasley should like it. It's one of Xander's favourite places, and I believe they share the same eating habits." The boys were still speechless, as if trying to puzzle out what a food court even was. Draco could only imagine what they were thinking. It seemed that there was going to be some amusement in guarding the golden boy and his friends, after all.

"Come on, or we'll be late." The former Slytherin bad boy turned his back on them, leaving them all the bags to carry. Typical Draco. But Harry was beginning to think that there was not much left of the boy he had once hated.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry that I seem to have abandoned my fics, people, but I really haven't. I've been having some health issues that make writing a lower priority than I'd like it to be. But I will finish my fics! Review and let me know if you're even still interested in the story.

Also, I have to throw a little plug in for the Dirty Dozen at www.renewangel.com. With the bad news coming down the pipe this week, the ladies have geared up the Save our show campaigns. According to media sources, the site was a large boost to the cause last year. Let's hope it helps now. Check out the site and Save Angel!

Chapter Seven

*************

Dawn tapped her fingers against the formica table in the food court, drumming out the beat to a tune that only she could hear.

J.J. was constantly telling her she took forever when she was clothes shopping, but here they were waiting for the guys.

She just hoped that didn't mean a fist fight had broken out.

Harry and J.J. reminded her heavily of Angel and Spike. Harry was the dark, brooding hero, out to save the world. J.J. was the bad boy, thrust into the good fight in the interest of self preservation.

Yet they were both fighting towards the same goal, both firmly entrenched on the side of good. She hoped it wouldn't take the boys long to realize it.

Dawn cast a sideways glance at Ginny, the youngest Weasley. "Rosenberg," Dawn corrected herself in her mind, training herself to say it the way it needed to be said at school. Hermione was keeping the younger girl occupied, allowing Dawn a chance to gather her thoughts. Hermione, having muggle parents, and spending the summers at home, was currently pointing out things to the younger girl, describing their use or significance. Dawn had been rather surprised at Ginny. The girl bore more than a little resemblance to Willow. Although, Dawn had to admit, it was mostly the shade of their hair and the aura of power around them.

Of course, Willow's was far, far stronger than Ginny's. But if Dawn remembered correctly, if you could call it remembering at all, Willow hadn't had any power to speak of at 16 years of age.

Given that, Dawn figured that it really was too early to tell how powerful Ginny might become. 

It really was no longer a mystery why J.J. had been found more often than not following Willow around like an eager puppy.

Dawn had, at first, chalked it up as a crush on a powerful, older witch.

But late one night, after they had struck up their friendship, the wizard had admitted to Dawn that he didn't really have a crush on Willow, it was just that she felt like home to him.

Dawn had thought, at the time, that it was because she was the residing witch. But the second she saw the students from Hogwarts, Dawn had seen the truth.

Willow didn't remind J.J. of home. Willow reminded J.J. of Ginny Weasley.

The instant that she saw J.J.'s expression at his first glimpse of Ginny in a year, several things had been made clear for Dawn.

The reason Draco had gravitated towards Willow, the reason that Draco flirted with all the potentials but never dated any of them. The reason that Dawn was the closest person to J.J., but it had never turned romantic.

J.J. was hung up on Ginny. 

But that, in itself, simply brought up a whole lot more questions.

Like, how it was that Ginny Weasley had caught his attention in the first place? What it was the girl had done to keep it for over a year from a continent away.  How J.J. had overcome the fact that she was a "Weasel" and related to Ron, one of his arch rivals. Why he had never mentioned the girl, not even to Dawn, who, in his own words, was the best friend that he had ever had.

Dawn also wondered if the young redhead had any idea that she has an admirer in J.J., and wondered how the girl would feel about that admiration.

Dawn found herself refocusing on the conversation just as Hermione was telling Ginny how hot dogs were not merely a muggle thing, but an American muggle thing, much like baseball.

"What's baseball?" Ginny asked her friend. Hermione shrugged, searching for an explanation.

"It kind of resembles cricket . . ." Hermione started, trailing off at the look of further confusion on the younger girl's face.

"I'll tell you what," Dawn broke in, leaning closer so that her next words would not be overheard. "I'll tell you about baseball, if you'll tell me about Quidditch, when we have more privacy. J.J. tries, but I just don't get it."

Ginny's eyes lit up at the mention of the sport J.J. adored, and Dawn began to understand what her best friend found attractive in the girl, especially when she next spoke. "I play on the Gryffindor team. Chaser and reserve seeker.  Won some games for our house my fourth year when Harry was banned from playing. I'll explain everything I can."

Dawn would hold her to that, but the food court at the neighbourhood mall really wasn't the place for an in depth discussion about a wizarding sport. Baseball, on the other hand, would occupy them until the guys showed up.

The American girl grabbed four salt packets from a nearby abandoned table and mapped out a baseball diamond on the table in front of her.

"So, in baseball, each team has nine players in the line-up at any given time . . . "


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay, I thought that when my muse came back that I'd write faster. Sorry that this chapter took so long to come out. Thank you to all that reviewed. It means a lot to me that people are still interested and are still reading this story.

Chapter Eight

**************

Draco, Ron and Harry walked towards to food court in complete silence. Ron and Harry were quiet because they were completely baffled by how different Draco Malfoy was from the prat that has harassed them during their first five years at Hogwarts.

Draco was quiet because he was angry, but that anger was, for the most part, directed at himself.

His little outburst in the clothing store. At Weasel had been a weak moment, and had revealed far too much of his inner turmoil to those he had always considered rivals. His saving grace, Draco believed, was the fact that he had always been arrogant. Hopefully Ron and Harry would take his reaction for defensiveness about his looks. 

Then again probably not. The old Malfoy would have would have made a snide remark about the garish color of Weasel's own hair. But that would have been Draco Malfoy's reaction, and he wasn't that person anymore. He was J.J. Summers. And J.J. Summers has been "overly proud", as Ron had put it, of his hair because it made people think that he was related to Spike. And after the destruction of Sunnydale, J.J. had been overly sensitive about it.

Draco was spared from further berating himself for his actions when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"And if you hit the ball foul, it's a strike?" Ginny asked, her voice bringing Draco out of his thoughts. Her voice was like the most soothing of lullabies to him, and thought it had haunted his dreams, he had believed that he would never again hear it in his waking hours.

Draco tried to will himself out of the reverie, not wanting Dawn to see whatever look was on his face and try to guess what was going on in his head. He knew his best friend was already curious as to his feelings. She had, after all, accused him in the car of keeping secrets, and glanced at Ginny as she said it, implying he had a secret that concerned the younger girl.

He wanted to avoid pouring out his heart to Dawn about his feelings until he had to. But judging by the expression on her face when she looked up and saw him, the sly smile she had, and the nearly imperceptible nod towards the redheaded girl, he'd have to do that sooner than he'd like. Probably the instant they got any time alone.

"Could this day gat any worse?" Draco thought to himself. He had to pick up his rivals at the crowded muggle airport, had to take them shopping as well. Dawn had mentioned both Cordelia and Spike. His best friend had figured out a secret that he had sworn no one would ever know. And he had lost his temper and aloof reserve by practically attacking Ron.

That, more than anything else, was the thing that was eating at him. Everything else seemed nearly insignificant by comparison. Then Ginny Weasley turned to them and smiled. Draco knew that she was smiling at her brother and her crush, but it lifted most of the weight off of his shoulders anyway.

Most, but not all.

He had intended to be the same arrogant Draco Malfoy that he had always been. He didn't want these people to know the person that he had become. If they were going to call him Malfoy, then he would be Malfoy.

But a Malfoy would never have lost his temper over a jibe about his hair. Draco wanted to be a Malfoy in front of them, but he was now wondering if he could even act like the Malfoy they had known, let alone be that person.

When Dawn called his name, he realized that he couldn't be that fifth year that he had left behind at Hogwarts. Because, as Dawn had just addressed him, he was J.J. now.

"What the hell took you guys so long? You're almost too late to get any food!"

"Relax, Summers. There is still plenty of mall time left."

J.J.'s words made Dawn wonder what had happened between the boys. He hadn't addressed her as Summers in a long time. Since before he had, as far as the Scoobies were concerned, become one himself.

"What the hell is wrong with you, J.J.?"

"Nothing. I'm peachy with a side of keen. Can we go?"

He began to turn in the direction of the doors, but stopped when he saw the look on Ginny's face. 

The girl was studying him as if she had never seen him before in her life. As if, just by looking at him, she could figure him out, figure out who he really was. Furthermore, she had looked like she wanted to figure him out, and it made his heart skip a beat, the curiosity in her eyes. Perhaps being J.J, Summers, the person that he really was, instead of playing the role of Draco Malfoy, the person he had always hidden behind, wouldn't be so bad. It couldn't be that bad, not if it made Ginny look at him as if he was a great mystery, and she wanted nothing more than to puzzle him out.

"Okay, which one of you hit his British asshole button? I'd thought I'd finally managed to disengage it." Dawn stood and glared at the two other boys, who looked as if they wanted to curl in on themselves and hide from her angry gaze.

J.J. snorted at her words, knowing that he couldn't laugh. Well, he could, but she'd stop being angry at Ron and Harry for making him cranky if he was happy, and the wizard was enjoying their discomfort too much. He swung his gaze towards the other boys, eager to see them receive the full power of Dawn Summers' anger.

"Well?" she demanded, arms crossed, toes tapping, eyes blazing. The resemblance to her sister was never more noticeable than when she was angry. She actually gave off a slayer vibe when she was like this. "He wasn't all snitty in the car, so it had to have been one of you." She narrowed her eyes at them. "Or was it both of you?"

The boys cringed at the look on her face. But Harry straightened his shoulders, and J.J. could almost hear him thinking, "I stood up to Voldemort, I can stand up to this girl."

"He overreacted to something that Ron said. It wasn't our fault." Harry crossed his arms over his chest with his words, glaring at Dawn in defiance. It was obvious that Harry was unhappy about the situation he was being forced into, especially after learning that situation included Draco Malfoy. Now it seemed the Boy That Lived was going to take out his frustration on Dawn.

"He threw Ron into a wall, all for a little comment." Harry walked towards Dawn, trying to use the height he had gained over the last year to intimidate her. J.J. had seen Angel try the same thing, and if the Scourge of Europe couldn't manage to intimidate her that way, no simple wizard would have success. "It's his problem, whatever it is, so don't blame us." Harry stated, the words practically spat at Dawn as he glared down at the girl.

Even Ron was surprised at the venom that was in Harry's voice. He knew that his best friend was angry that they had been sent away from Hogwarts, and even angrier that Draco was one of the people that would be protecting them. But this girl, Dawn, had been nice to them so far, even if she seemed close to Malfoy. And Ron had been taunting Malfoy.

Ron took a step towards the two angry teens, the others looking on curiously to see what he would do. He gently pulled away his angry best friend, and turned to face Dawn himself.

"It was my fault, I guess. I provoked him, though I didn't realize that he would get that upset about it." Ron shot a look towards Draco, whose expression changed from one of surprise to one of anger.

"What did you say to him?" The look on Dawn's face made Draco's pale in comparison, so Ron decided to tell her.

"I twitted him about his hair." Ron looked at his shows, "how he used to be so proud of it"

It was quiet for a minute, and Ron chanced a look up. He had been expecting Dawn to be ready to tear into him. Instead, he saw that her expression had changed to one of sadness. She looked towards Draco, then stepped towards him.

Draco flinched, as if Dawn was going to hit him. All of the new arrivals were surprised when she hugged him tightly instead.

After a minute she let him go, ruffling his multi-colored hair, and speaking words that made no sense to them, but made Draco smile grimly. "It was really brown, you know. He had to dye it to get it this color." With that, Dawn fingered one of the few platinum locks that remained on the Slytherin's head. "Now go grab some food. I'm starving!" She pushed J.J. towards the food booths, and both teens laughed.

The four Gryffindors just stood gaping at them, knowing that they had, once again, missed something of importance.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: I hope that you are all still reading this. I'm feeling very inspired on this fic lately, and hope that I'll get inspired to work on the others.   
  
I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but it seems as if RL keeps getting in the way.   
  
I want to thank each and every person that reviewed this story so far. I'm glad that you all like it, and I appreciate the feedback. I wish I had the time to answer you all personally, but I'm trying to use all my spare time to work on my stories.   
  
Please keep reading and reviewing. It keeps me inspired.   
  
(a little nod to FaceInTheCrowd for pointing out the Ron-Xander thing. I used it in this chapter. I hope you don't mind.)   
  
Chapter Nine   
***********   
  
Dawn couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight before her. She'd seen some amazing things in her short but remarkable life. The boy who had given her her first kiss had been a vampire who tried to turn her. A hospital intern who shared a body with a hell goddess. Her entire town collapsing on itself. Her sister coming back from the dead. But none of them could compare to the surrealism of the sight she was now witnessing.   
  
Well . . . there was one thing. Xander. She just never thought that she would ever meet someone with and appetite that could compete with the one belonging to her surrogate big brother. But she'd had yet to meet Ron Weasley, and he was currently proving that she was wrong in that thinking.   
  
It could have been that his parents never fed him, but had that been the case, Ginny would have been showing signs of the same kind of hunger. But she wasn't. The redhead was currently finishing her one and only Quarter Pounder, and watching Dawn's reaction to her brother's eating habits. He was, after all, polishing off his second hamburger, after having already eaten all of his fries. A slice of pepperoni pizza sat in front of him, waiting to be consumed next. Ginny laughed out loud at the expression on Dawn's face, and decided to take some pity on the American.   
  
"I know, we're used to it, but it's a pretty amazing sight, isn't it? He eats more than my twin brothers combined. People never believe it the first time."   
  
Dawn shook her head, trying to focus on what Ginny was saying rather than on what Ron was eating, as he had now moved on to the pizza. "Oh, it's really not that unimaginable . . ." She trailed off, unsure of how to say it.   
  
J.J. looked at his best friend, amused at the struggle she was having to find the words to compare Ron to Xander.   
  
He put down the container of ginger chicken that he was eating, one chopstick skewered into the meat like a stake. The other he kept in his hand, twirling it with his nimble fingers.   
  
The others were looking at Dawn, puzzled by the unfinished statement. Dawn, for her part, looked as if she was unable to find the polite words to say that the sight was far too familiar for them, just not from this person. J.J. hadn't really thought about it before, never having really eaten meals anywhere near Ron. But the Gryffindor's eating habits had been legendary, and, had he given it much thought, he supposed he would have compared Ron to Xander much sooner than now. But he had never given Ron all that much thought after leaving Hogwarts, other than to imagine the keeper tearing his head off for the inappropriate thoughts of Ginny that J.J. had from time to time.   
  
Now that he thought about it, thought, J.J. could see more similarities between the two then just their eating habits. And they shared more traits then J.J. would have liked to admit. Instead of dwelling on that train of thought, because he didn't want to admit that the weasel was in any way similar to a person that he admired, J.J. decided to say what Dawn was having so much trouble expressing.   
  
"What sunshine here is trying to say is that Ron's not the only one that she's ever seen eat like that. She just never thought she'd see anyone who had the appetite of Jack. I mentioned him in the store, remember?"   
  
The other boys shook their heads, making J.J. roll his eyes. They had probably been taxing their brain trying to decipher the phrase food court.   
  
Dawn had been slowly turning her head away from Ron while J.J. had been speaking, but the use of the name Jack caused her to snap her head around and focus her full attention on the former Slytherin.   
  
"Jack?" she asked, puzzlement evident on her face.   
  
"Yeah, you're right, nowhere near ugly enough. How about Barbosa?" When he received nothing more from the girl than another confused look, he continued. "Not Barbosa? How about Bluebeard? Blackbeard? Yellowbeard?" At this, J.J. could see the comprehension beginning to come into her eyes. "No? How about Morgan Adams?"   
  
Dawn could not hold back any longer, and laughed out loud at her best friend. "Pirates? It's just unfair of you to make fun of him that way!" But she was still laughing, regardless.   
  
"Pirates?" Ginny whispered to Hermione. "What does Ron's pigishness have to do with pirates?"   
  
J.J. overheard her, though, given that Dawn had arranged it so that he was sitting between her and Ginny. Of course, Ron couldn't be separated from Hermione, who was sitting on the young girl's other side. Although, J.J. could tell, he still hadn't managed to tell her his feelings, the stupid git. This left Harry sitting on the other side of Dawn, something that irritated the former blonde. He'd have to talk to her about Potter later. But, for now, it allowed him to lean over and stage whisper to Ginny, "Not all pirates, just Pirate Chubs."   
  
Of course, as he had intended, Dawn heard him. And it earned him a smack to the back of the head from her. But it was worth it, because she was laughing, and she needed that today. They both did. They'd had too many reminders of the hard things today.   
  
But after straightening, running a hand through his unusual hair, and trying to regain his dignity, he found another reason to be glad. There was a soft giggling to his right. Looking towards her, he noticed that Ginny was giggling at him and her eyes were twinkling with amusement. Sure, she seemed to be giggling at his expense, as her next words would confirm, but she was giggling. And, more importantly, she was looking at him and the look in her eyes was not one of looking at a hated enemy, as he had expected. Instead, she was looking at him as if she was someone she'd just met, and more amazingly, as if he was someone she wanted to get to know.   
  
Ginny broke the eye contact she was sharing with the boy and leaned around him to look at Dawn. "I'm impressed," she told the girl, her giggling having died off as she had been looking at J.J. "Nobody at Hogwarts would have dared to hit the mighty Draco Malfoy. Especially not across the back of the head like that."   
  
"Well," Dawn started, grabbing the chopstick with the piece of chicken on it and popping the food into her mouth. "J.J. Summers seems to shoot off his mouth a lot. Resulting in him getting smacked upside the head on a regular basis. Especially by Xander, who he was just insulting, by the way."   
  
Ron took a swig of his drink, having finished his piece of pizza. "Who is Xander, and what does he have to do with me? Or pirates, for that matter, whatever those are?"   
  
  
Hermione, being the book lover that she was, answered his second question. "Pirates, Ron, like the book I gave you to read, Treasure Island. Ginny remembered." The redheaded girl nodded at her friend's statement.   
  
"I didn't forget," Ron protested, his ears turning red. "I just didn't realize that that was how the word was pronounced." He looked down at his now empty tray, his cheeks stained with embarrassment at the girls' laughter. "Still don't see what they have to do with the way that I eat, though."   
  
"Like I told your sister, Weasley, not all pirates. Just Pirate Chubs." The statement earned him another smack to the head, and more giggling from the girls.   
  
"Xander is Alexander Harris, Xander for short." Dawn clarified for the recently arrived teens. "He's a really good friend of my sister's, and part of the team. What I was trying to say, before Junior here felt the need to rudely interrupt with the insults, was that it wasn't that unimaginable to see someone eat like Ron. You see, Xander does it all the time."   
  
"How he earned the nickname Chubs," J.J. muttered, but still loud enough for the table to hear, earning him an elbow in the gut.   
  
"Quit living up to the name, J.J." Dawn hissed at him, and turned back to the others. "I was just amazed because I never thought I'd see anyone else eat like Xander."   
  
"But what about the pirate part?" asked Ginny, still curious.   
  
J.J. opened his mouth to speak, but Dawn had stabbed another piece of food onto her chopstick, and shoved it into his mouth to stop him from speaking. He closed his mouth around the morsel, glaring at his best friend. She just smiled deviously at him, making him wonder what the younger Summers' girl had up her sleeve.   
  
"You guys all know what pirates are?" She looked around the table, getting nods from everyone. Even from Ron, who was still pink with embarrassment. "Then I think the joke would pay off better if you just waited to see for yourselves when you meet Xander." She twirled the chopstick in her hand, much the same way that J.J. had been continually twirling his since he had set down his food. She stabbed the utensil back into the container of Chinese food and looked at her watch, frowning. Her face turned towards the skylight, as if trying to see something in the dark night that was outside.   
  
"If you're still interested in any of the food, pack it up. We need to get going. Buffy'll have kittens at the time" Dawn stood from the table, preparing to leave.   
  
"Can use them for poker with Clem if she does." J.J. pointed out.   
  
Dawn laughed as she fumbled around on the tray that had held the Chinese food, grabbing the extra set of chopsticks. She broke them apart, putting them in her mouth to hold. She then grabbed her colourful hair in her hands, twisting it until it was up in a bun at the back of her head. Taking the chopsticks from her teeth, she used them to secure her hair, pinning it up.   
  
"Bare neck," J.J. pointed out, getting up from his own seat, tossing down the chopstick he still held, and beginning to clear the table of the remains of their dinner.   
  
"Wooden chopsticks," she replied, picking up some of the shopping bags.   
  
J.J. threw the remains of their meals into the trash, but not before retrieving his own chopsticks and putting them into his back pocket. He caught up with Dawn, relieving her of some of the bags, so that her right hand was now free.   
  
Dawn turned back to look at the four other teens. "Guys, when I say move, you should learn to respond immediately. It just might save your life someday. Now let's go." Dawn turned away from them, knowing that they would follow, if only out of fear of being left behind in the muggle world.   
  
J.J., for his part, didn't look back to make sure that they were with them. He just followed Dawn, knowing that her tone had been one that not even Potter would think about disobeying.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Amazing!! Two updates in two days!! I'm just feeling inspired this week. Although, I'd really like to hear if you guys are enjoying this, and are liking the direction that it's heading.

So, read and review!! I'd also like suggestions for pairings, or which other characters you'd like to see make an appearance.

I have a couple of ideas, but I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks again.

Chapter Ten

**********

Harry had been quiet since leaving the airport. His friends had noticed, but really didn't try to engage him in conversation. He had expressed his extreme displeasure with the current situation as they had landed, and none of the others thought that it would be wise to discuss things until they could be sure that they wouldn't be overheard. And so they left Harry to his thoughts, for once, instead of trying to jolly him out of his brood. And he was glad that they did.

It gave him ample opportunity to take in the situation, to study his surroundings, to size up his new protectors. Harry was going into his seventh year, taking all the classes that he would need to become an auror, and practicing what Mad Eye Moody always preached, 'Constant Vigilance'. With all of the studying, the extra defense lessons that the members of the Order were giving him, and his promise to Dumbledore that he would follow his own intuition, Harry felt that his powers of observation and deduction were becoming quite impressive.

As a result, he had noticed several things about the current situation, some of them that he was sure that his traveling companions had yet to see.

Like the fact that Dawn had not once called Draco by his given name. To her, his name was J.J. Summers. At first, Harry had thought nothing of it, knowing that he and Hermione would also use that surname while they were in L.A., just as Ron and Ginny would be going by Rosenberg. But the more often Dawn called Draco J.J., the more Harry realized that it was more than just a nickname to the girl. It was a symbol of how he was. At it seemed that, as far as Dawn was concerned, J.J. Summers and Draco Malfoy were not the same person. Two different people that happened to share the same body. Harry wondered at her ability to separate the two, and wondered if he should try to do the same. 

Normally, Harry would have never thought of getting to know the person behind the persona of Draco Malfoy. But Harry, of all people, knew to never say never. With his life the way it was, he had to learn to adjust to unexpected situations. Looking at Draco Malfoy as anything but a future Death Eater was definitely an unexpected situation. In fact, looking at Draco Malfoy as anything other than Draco Malfoy, the epitome of Slytherin, the boy who acted as if he ruled the school, the bane of their existence, was an entirely unexpected situation.

But the things that Harry had taken note of warranted a closer inspection into the person that Draco now appeared to be to the muggle world, J.J. Summers. It seemed more important to Harry to discover if that was the person that Draco really was, rather than dwell on the fact of who he had always been.

Several separate observations had made Harry come to this conclusion, to look at Malfoy with a new perspective. One of them was the new name. That, and the slight reaction that the other boy seemed to have every time they called him Malfoy. At first, Harry had thought that Draco was just adverse to the fact that it was a group of Gryffindors using his name. But as the group spent more time with the pair of teens who had picked them up, Harry noticed that the girl never called him Malfoy, as his 'friends' back at Hogwarts had. In fact, she didn't even call him Draco.

Then, in the clothing store, Harry had tried to get the Slytherin's attention. He had called him Malfoy, the only name Harry had ever used when addressing the boy. In fact, he had called the name twice. The first time, it was as if Draco had not even heard him, as if the name didn't belong to him, but to some stranger that he had never met.

The second time Harry had tried to get his attention, Draco had visibly flinched at the name, as if it physically hurt him to be so addressed.

Then there had been the incident over his hair. The Draco that Harry had known in school would have simply made a disdainful remark about Ron's own hair and snidely replied that Draco was just jealous.

This Draco, however, seemed to hate the mere mention of the colour his hair used to be. And not because he had been proud of it. After all, if he had still been proud of it, why would he have changed it? As it was, the boy's hair was so multicoloured that you couldn't decipher what the original colour had been.

And Dawn definitely knew why. After all, she knew exactly the right thing to say to Draco about it.

Another thing that had struck Harry as odd about the incident with Ron was the strange threat that Draco had uttered. Something about something's heart? And a basement?

Harry had been expecting threats about Death Eaters, about Draco's father, about Voldemort himself. Maybe even a hex or two. What Harry wasn't expecting was a threat that appeared to be muggle in nature, and a frightening one at that if the reaction of the salesgirl had been any indication.

Harry had also noticed something else when Draco had pinned Ron against the wall, something that he was amazed they hadn't seen before. Draco had some kind of marking on his left arm, in the spot where the Death Eaters wore their dark mark, the sign of allegiance to Voldemort.  Death Eaters traditionally had their initiation at the age of seventeen, when they were legal wizards. It was possible that Draco, going into his seventh year, would be of age like Harry, and initiated. But the dark mark was always black, and Harry could have sworn that he had seen a flash of colour on whatever it was that graced the Slytherin's arm. He'd have to get a better look at Draco's arm to know for sure, though.

Harry was trying to figure out if he should find a way to sneak a look at the mark, or just ask Draco outright to show it to him. Not that the boy would willingly show Harry the dark mark if that was indeed what it was.

But then again, Draco wasn't stupid. And if he did actually bear the mark of Voldemort, then he would have never worn a short-sleeved shirt in front of any witch or wizard. So maybe he could just casually ask Draco to see his arm. Or, should he try asking J.J.?

They had left the mall and had been heading towards the car while Harry had been doing his silent contemplating. So, they were in the parking lot of the mall when the atmosphere around them changed, taking on a heavy, dark feeling. Harry broke away from his thoughts, and found himself already in front of Ginny, Hermione and Ron, his stance protective. The speed with which he had placed himself in that position surprised even Harry. He looked around, wondering what had set off his lightening fast reflexes.

Everything seemed normal enough; no dangerous dark wizards had apparrated into the parking lot.

The only thing that Harry could see was a young man in a dark shirt and pants, leaning against the convertible. But he could have been a boyfriend of Dawn's who had simply recognized the car and decided to wait for her.

At least, that was what the wizard told himself. But still . . . 

"I have a bad feeling about this," Harry told Draco and Dawn, who had stopped walking and were looking worriedly at the newcomer.

Draco put his bags dawn, and, for a reason Harry couldn't fathom, pulled the chopsticks from his pocket before hissing at Harry. "Nice going, C-3PO!"

Dawn, who had put down her own bags and was reaching into the bag on her hip, trying to be discreet about it, whipped her head around to look at her companions. "Wow, thanks for that, Andrew! No more Star Wars for you!"

At this point, the man by the car spoke, capturing the attention of all of the teens.

"Here I was, thinking that I'd find the legendary Angelus if I just waited patiently by his precious car. He's so proud of it. But all I find is a six course meal, instead."

"Meal?" Harry had the time to question. But there was no time to answer, because as he spoke, chaos erupted.

A/N: I know, cliffie! But I'm already working on the next part. ;-)


	12. Chapter 11

A/N Hello all. I'm sorry that I left this at a cliffhanger for so long, but I was having a really hard time writing this chapter. In fact, I'm still really, really nervous about it. I have a really hard time writing action. So I'm begging you to leave me a little review, and let me know what you thought, good, bad, lousy, whatever, I'd be extremely grateful!!

Thanks ever so much.

Chapter Eleven 

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The Boy-Who-Lived had been trying to ask Dawn why the man they had met at the car had talked of them like they were food when everything changed in an instant, starting with the stranger's face.

He transformed in much the same way a witch or wizard would when changing into animagus form. There was a rippling of skin and a shifting of the bones underneath. But when the changing was done, there wasn't an animal left behind, but rather something far scarier. Something that reminded Harry vaguely of that trip into the Forbidden Forrest back in their first year, when he had found what remained of Voldemort drinking unicorn blood to survive. Several things flowed together in Harry's mind in that first instant after seeing the man's face change. He remembered what he's learned about those who drank unicorn blood. That they were cursed with a half-life. Draco had commented that Dawn's throat was bare. Dawn had pointed out that her chopsticks were wooden. They all added up to one thing in Harry's mind. Vampire.

Just as he thought it, he heard Hermione say it. "Vampire!"

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Granger."

Harry looked at Draco as he spoke. His tone had shown that he was not at all surprised. And his stance . . . Malfoy had been nearly unrecognizable before, but the boy that now stood in Malfoy's shoes was someone that Harry had never seen before. Gone was the scared little boy that didn't want to go into the dark forest. Gone was the first year that had run from the Great Hall and the announcement of a troll in the castle. He wasn't even the fifth year boy who had confidently believed that no mere girl could ever hex a Malfoy.

Instead, there was a young man with a determined look in his eye. A man that didn't run from the monster facing them. A man who stood his ground, who had taken up a protective stance in front of four Gryffindors, seemingly ready to offer up his life to keep theirs safe.

All of this had happened in the blink of an eye, and Harry would later be amazed at his own ability to understand the situation that quickly. But in that moment there was too much going on to think about it.

Ron was behind Harry, having put a protective arm around each of the girls, both of who were wide-eyed and shaking with fright. Harry looked at his hand and discovered that he had already drawn his wand, much to his own surprise. There was a clicking noise that caught Harry's attention, and he turned his head in that direction. Dawn now held a small crossbow, and the sound had been her releasing a bolt. The arrow met its target, the vampire exploding into dust as Ginny screamed. Harry turned towards her, thinking that the unusual sight of a vampire expiring had caused her shout. Instead, he saw that they had been ambushed from behind by two more vampires while they had been distracted, and they had each grabbed a girl, Ron having been no match for their strength.

"You didn't think he came here alone, did you?" the female vampire, who was holding Ginny, sneered.  She eyed the pile of dust distastefully. "He might have been stupid enough to get surprised and dusted by a little girl, but he wasn't stupid enough to confront Angelus on his own." She ran her nose up the side of the neck of the girl she was holding, sniffing her. It made Ginny shiver in terror. "You won't dust us as easily as you dusted Kyle."

Dawn was standing stock still, knowing that if she tried to use the crossbow again that they would see her, and would be able to kill the girls without a second's thought. They had lost the element of surprise.

"You planning to use that little twig to dust us, boy? It looks like a baby stake." The male laughed at the wand in Harry's hand, licking Hermione's neck as he did.

Harry glanced down at his wand. The vampire hadn't seemed to realize what it really was. Perhaps they still could surprise them. The wizard began to move his arm to stun the vampires, trying to decide who to take out first, when he wand was unceremoniously snatched out of his hand.

"You ever use magic in an unwarded place, I'll kill you myself, Potter. Dawn and I can get us out of this without magic."

Harry turned and glared at the very unMalfoy-like Draco. A Malfoy wanting to solve a situation without magic? After all, it was legal for Harry to use magic outside of school, now that he was seventeen. Something very strange had happened to Malfoy in his time away from Hogwarts.

"Oh, I don't think that you, or your little girlfriends here, are going to get out of this, boy. Not even magic would help, even if I did believe that any of you were witches," the male snarled. He then looked as if he was about to sink his fangs into Hermione's neck.

The sight drove Dawn out of her frozen state, spurring her to move forward. She dropped the crossbow, and held her hands up in the air. "Wait just a minute. Can't we talk about this? Strike some kind of a deal?"

"I doubt it," the vampire stated, though his head had raised from his captive's neck.

"Well, we have Angelus's car, right? We know him, obviously. Maybe if you agree not to kill us, he'd come here and let you have a go." With every word she spoke, Dawn took a step closer to where Hermione stood in the arms of her captor. "Or you could always trade Hermione for me."

"Why would I do that?" he snarled.

"My sister is Buffy Summers. Which means that I have slayer blood in my veins, no? At least partially. And you guys like that, right?"

Dawn was now so close to the vampire that Harry had a clear view of her back and arms. She had raised her arm as if being confronted by the police, trying to show the vampires that she was no longer a threat, now that she didn't have a weapon. Now she dropped her arms, resting her hands on her head. But if you were looking close enough at the back of her head, you could see that the was surreptitiously removing one of the chopsticks from her hair and concealing it in her palm, so that the vampires couldn't see it.

At the same time, J.J. was busy looking for a way to get the female to let go of Ginny. The boy caught her eyes, and saw fear in them. But there was also a healthy amount of courage and determination in them as well. The kind of things that she had displayed playing Seeker for Gryffindor in his fifth year.

The fleeting thought gave J.J. and idea. He hoped that she'd understand his meaning and do what he intended for her to do at his signal. He just had to wait for the right moment. The former blonde tried to send assurances to her with his eyes. The vampire holding her looked over to its companion, allowing J.J. to step closer to the pair.

"Slayer's blood, you say?" She caught the eye of the other vampire. "Go ahead and try her, Matthew. But if she's right, and she does taste like slayer, save some for me." 

Matthew, as she had called him, licked Hermione's neck, then shoved her away, reaching for Dawn while telling the English girl, "Don't worry, sweetie. You're going to be next."  
  


He drew Dawn towards himself, and J.J. could see the chopstick in her right hand, and knew that it was time to make his move. He took a last step forward, praying to the Gods that Ginny would do what he needed her to do.

"Hey Weasley! Pull a Wronski Feint!" he shouted. Miraculously, she deciphered what he wanted and suddenly buckled her knees, dropping her weight, and forcing the vampire to nearly let go. J.J. had what he needed.

He saw out of the corner of his eye the moment when Dawn dusted Matthew with her chopstick as he had pulled her in for a taste.

J.J. used the distraction to step in and drive his own chopstick into the female's heart, Ginny now no longer blocking the target. Her support having turned to dust, Ginny started to drop the small remaining distance to the hard pavement, but J.J.'s hands stopped her fall and pulled her back to a standing position.

It was suddenly silent again, and Harry could only hear the beating of his own heart, and the harsh, laboured breathing of those around him.

They all just stared at each other in complete silence, unable to speak with the shock of what had just happened.

What was even more shocking, though, was that when the silence broke, it was broken by sudden, near hysterical, laughter.

"That was bloody brilliant thinking Sunshine! No, take me, take me! Way to be all self sacrificing."

"What about you, J.J.? One ski faint??? What the hell does that mean?"

Ginny, having recovered the ability to speak, answered for him "Wronski feint, Dawn. It's a quidditch move." She sounded flabbergasted.

The incredulousness of her voice only made Dawn laugh harder. "You saved her with a quidditch move?" she asked J.J., perplexed.

"Hey, I'm just glad she knew what I meant!"

"Me too!" Ginny exclaimed, causing the pair to laugh all the harder.

"We so kicked that ass!"

"We certainly did Sunshine."

Dawn stepped forward and gave J.J. a high five, her laughter beginning to trail off. "I can't believe that that guy wanted to take on 'the great Angelus'"

"That vampire **did **say Angelus!" The exclamation came from Hermione, and all the teens turned to look at her. The girl's eyes were lit up in the way that meant she was trying to solve a problem. Then her face suddenly blanched, and her voice dropped low, so low that it sounded as if she were talking to herself, and the others had to strain to hear her. "Dawn said that the car should have Scourge of Europe written on it . . .. that vampire said Angelus . . . that it was Angelus's car . . . " Hermione snapped her gaze to lock with Dawn's, shock and terror on her face. "You were driving us around in a vampire's car!"

"Yeah, and?" Dawn turned her back on Hermione and went to pick up her crossbow. The curly-haired Gryffindor followed behind her.

"And you never thought that you should mention it?" Hermione demanded.

"Why? So you could over react, like you're doing right now?"

"No! Because that car nearly got us killed!"

Dawn returned her weapon to her bag, and spun around to face the other girl. "It wasn't the car, it was the dumb as dirt vampires! Besides, you think **that** was nearly getting killed? And here I was, thinking that you guys were tough."

Harry shot a glance towards Draco at Dawn's words, wondering what the Slytherin had told her about them. After all, he was the only one she knew who could have. Harry remembered that the boy had taken his wand, and he'd have to ask Draco to return in. But the two girls were still fighting, and Harry thought that he would wait for a quiet moment to make his request.

"There were three vampires! **Three!**" Hermione pointed out, as if  Dawn had been unaware.

"Yeah Hermione, three. Against five witches and wizards, and me. I've been fighting vampires practically my entire life!"

"Yet you drive around in their cars without a problem!"

"Not that it's any of your business, Hermione," Dawn spat, the other girl's name sounding like a curse, "but yes. Thins aren't as black and white as your professors at Hogwarts would have you believe."

Harry glanced at Draco. Here was a boy who had been a bitter rival, but tonight had put that aside and saved Ginny. The action made Harry see that Dawn had a point.

"Besides, it's not just any vampire's car, it's Angel's car," Dawn pointed out.

"Angel, Angelus, he's the same vampire, isn't he? It's just a different name that he chooses to go by," Hermione sneered. "Those vampires didn't seem to care."

Dawn stormed up to Hermione, looking as if she wanted to hit the other girl. "Not that I have the time to explain, but Angel is **not **the same as Angelus." Now Dawn was leaning in Hermione's face. "Those vampires were lucky to not have found who they were looking for. Angel would have done more than just dust them. He would have punished them for touching his car, first!"

The teens had been so engrossed in the argument, J.J. now standing beside Dawn, that they had failed to notice that a man had approached them until they heard him speak. 

"Well, I may be too late for the killing, but it looks like I can still punish you and J.J. for touching my car."  
  
Dawn and J.J both paled at the voice, looked at each other, and turned to face the person who had spoken.

The others looked as well, seeing a handsome man step from the shadows as if he had been wearing them as a cloak. His clothes were all dark and expensive, and not a brown hair was out of place on his head.

"Oh bollocks!" J.J. hissed.

"Hi Angel!" Dawn exclaimed, waving her fingers at the newcomer in greeting.

"Angel?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," the man confirmed.

"As in Angelus? Scourge of Europe Angelus?"

"You wouldn't be entirely wrong," he told her.

Harry couldn't have said who was more surprised, the newcomer or the teens, when Hermione's eyes rolled back and she suddenly dropped to the pavement.

The Boy-Who-Lived sighed. It was going to be a long time before he got that moment of quiet he needed to get his wand back.


	13. Chapter 12

A/N Sorry about the wait, guys! I hate not being able to update more for you, and I hate being at the mercy of my muses and only being able to write when they let me. Please forgive me and review anyways? Pretty please, with sugar on top?

Chapter 12

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Ron gazed out the window to the beautifully lighted city of Los Angeles. The landscape was completely covered in buildings, but in the darkness, all that was visible were the lights that fought off the dark.

The redhead tried to take it all on, tried to seal it in his mind so he would be able to describe it later, but there was too much going on. There were too many things running through his mind to commit the sight to memory. He hoped his father wouldn't be too disappointed that he wouldn't be able to describe the first true wonderful look at muggle electricity.

Yes, electricity. Arthur Weasley may have been fascinated with the stuff, but he had never been able to pronounce the work that described it correctly. Kind of like telephone.

Ron mentally cringed at that thought. Harry must have explained the concept to him more than half a dozen times, but he had still managed to pronounce the word wrong at the mall. It was like it was a mental block with him.

But electricity, that he could pronounce. Of course, Hermione had talked about it for more than an hour on the plane. She had even used the reading lights over their seats to demonstrate how lights worked. For some reason, her explanation had allowed him to at least learn enough to be able to pronounce the word, even if he still didn't quite get how it worked. But maybe that was because when he thought of electricity now, he could hear Hermione saying the word.

Maybe he should get her to explain to him about the telephone.

Thinking of Hermione made Ron turn his head from the window to look at her, sprawled on the couch where she had been laid when they had arrived. The vampire had been very careful with her. Vampire.

Ron was still having a hard time adjusting to that. They had been brought to this building by a vampire. The vampire who rand the business that was in this big fancy building. A building with lots of big windows, oddly enough, and a fantastic view, and expensive furniture. Like the leather couch that Hermione was lying on.

His gaze drifted over to the girl again. He'd gone a whole thirty seconds there where he hadn't looked at her. He was getting better.

Ron was worried. That justified the constant looks, didn't it?

Her collapse in the parking lot of the mall had reminded him eerily of second year, when Hermione had been petrified. The helplessness he had felt then had returned. Ron had just wanted his best friend to wake up. But he had had no idea how to make her do it.

Of course, he was sure that there was some charm that would have worked, something that Hermione would have known. But she was the one that was unconscious. Plus, they had all been more than a little shocked. A real live vampire had been standing in front of them.

Well, maybe not live.

Ron guessed that he couldn't blame her for being shocked into unconsciousness by the events, but he had expected her to be awake by now. It had been almost twenty minutes ago, after all. And Hermione was a tough witch. She'd already been through so much more than a witch twice her age. Finding the Philosopher's Stone in first year, brewing the Polyjuice potion in second. Not to mention being petrified that year. She'd helped them confront Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. She had been kidnapped for one of the task of the Tri-Wizard tournament in fourth year. "Because of Vicky, stupid git," thought Ron. Then there had been the end of fifth year and the battle at the Ministry of Magic.

So why, after twenty minutes had passed, was Hermione still out?

And, moreover, what had shocked her so much that she had fainted in the first place?

Ron might not have been the brains of their group, (he cringed at the thought of brains, the image bringing up bad memories) but even he knew that this was hardly the most shocking thing they'd seen. In fact, it was one of the least. Something more than just meeting a mere vampire was going on.

After all, you-know-who had basically been a vampire back in their first year, when Harry had caught a glimpse of him feeding in the Forbidden Forrest.

The youngest Weasley male knew that something else had to have shocked Hermione. He tried to remember back to the parking lot, trying to recall what Hermione had been yelling at Dawn about, and what she had asked the vampire before she collapsed.

She'd been very angry with Dawn, berating her about Angelus. About something called the scourge of Europe. Ron didn't know what that was, but the way his friend had said it, he didn't think it was a good thing. And the way that she had spat out the name Angelus. Well, it had reminded him of the way that she would say the names Lucius Malfoy or Peter Pettigrew. Hermione rarely judged people without giving them a chance first, but she had spoke Angelus's ("No, Angel," Ron mentally corrected. His name was Angel now, Dawn had said) name was full of venom. He wondered how she would feel when she discovered that it was the vampire who had carried her up here.

Ron hadn't liked the way that the vampire had held her at all.

The young man had been moving to carry her himself, but the vampire had been faster. And the look in his eyes hadn't allowed for any argument.

Ron glanced at Hermione again, and moved to the couch to sit at her feet. He wished she'd wake up. He had all the puzzle pieces, but she was the brain that he needed to fit them together. He needed her mind. He needed her to explain.

He just needed her . . . 

Ron's train of thought was interrupted by the touch of Harry's hand on his shoulder, and the redhead was glad. His thoughts had been about to enter territory he tried to stay away from. Thoughts that he'd started to think back in fourth year when Hermione had met Victor Krum. Thought that he'd had more often since the events at the end of fifth year, since the Ministry. Thoughts that he wasn't sure he should be having. Thoughts that he didn't want Hermione to know he was having. Thought that he wasn't even ready to tell Harry about.

"Hey Ron," Harry said with a slight shake of his best friend to draw his attention away from the girl beside him. "She's going to be okay, you know."

Ron looked up at Harry, and saw the knowing understanding in his friend's green eyes. It made him realize that Harry might have known exactly what Ron had been about to think about, and he had a quick second to wonder when he'd let his thoughts show on his face before Harry sat down beside him and continued to speak.

"It's been less than half an hour. I'm sure she'll be up and lecturing us all about the scourge of Europe in no time, whatever it may be," Harry whispered.

"But shouldn't she be awake by now?" Ron questioned, keeping his voice low as well. They weren't alone in the room. The people who worked for the vampire were watching them. And, although Dawn seemed to trust them, the boys hadn't even known Dawn long enough to be comfortable with her, never mind people she told them could be trusted.

Ginny was in the corner, speaking to the woman of the group. Fred, Ron remembered, thinking it strange that a girl would have the same name as one of his brothers. She had known that they were witches and wizards, and had asked about potions. Someone named Willow, the girl who they were supposed to be related to, Ron thought, had told her that potions was kind of like Kemastree, whatever that was. It had interested Ginny, and the two had been chatting ever since.

The other two occupants of the room were men, Wesley and Gunn. The teens had been told that these people were there to protect them for the time being, in place of Draco and Dawn.

The pair had been ushered by Angel into a different office after Hermione had been deposited on the couch of Wesley's office, the vampire leaving his staff to guard them.

Wesley had explained, in soothing British tones that had reminded the teens of home, that Angel had need to talk to the two, and that they were there to watch over them. 

Gunn had rolled his eyes at Wesley's use of the word talk, and had perched himself on the corner of the other man's desk. It had given him a view of both the door and the windows, as well as a large portion of the room. It also left very little of the room hidden from his eyes, and very little room at his back.

The young black man reminded the boys of Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of the members of the Order of the Phoenix, and an Auror. It was not only his look, but something about his demeanor as well, and it made the boys feel protected by these people. 

But just because the boys felt protected from outside danger didn't mean that they would trust them enough to talk freely about their situation in front of them.

"I don't know," Harry quietly replied. "But I'm not really worried about her yet. I'm so tired that if I fell asleep right now, I'd probably stay that way for a whole day, never mind just half an your."

Ron shot another look at Hermione. "Has it really only been half an hour since the parking lot? It feels a lot longer."

"A lot has happened."

Ron glanced at the others in the room. His sister was still wrapped up in her conversation with Fred, Gunn was still watching the room in a guard-like fashion, and Wesley was seated behind his desk. He was looking into a box perched on it, and tapping his fingers on something flat on its surface.

Harry saw where his friend was looking and explained. "It's a computer. Dudley has one. I'm not even going to attempt to explain what it's for or what it does. . I'll leave that up to Hermione."

The tips of Ron's ears turned Red at the mention of her name. "I'd rather she explained about the scourge of Europe first, whatever that is," Ron whispered. He felt a small touch against his leg, and looked down. Hermione's foot had brushed against his leg, and when it did it again, he looked up to her face.

Her eyes were fluttering, as if she were trying to open them. When she got them to open and stay that way, they caught Ron's, and both teens just stopped to stare. Harry peered around the larger boy to see what had captured his attention, and realized that Hermione was finally awake.

"Well hello there. Finally awake?" Harry teased. "We've been hoping you could tell us what is going on, because we have no clue, really."

She sat up and looked ready to launch into a long explanation when she seemed to realize that they weren't alone in the room. Not only that, but that she had never even seen the three other people before.

And though they have been out of earshot, the teens had at all times remained in plain sight of Gunn, and he was now walking towards them.

"I think it'll have to wait," she whispered to her best friends, looking up at the man who had come to stand at the end of the couch.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty. How're you feeling?"

Hermione gulped, seemingly at a loss as to how she should answer the question.

"Hey English!" Gunn nearly shouted. All of the teens and Wesley looked towards him in answer, and Fred because of his volume. Gunn looked around him, realizing that the nickname could apply to everyone except Fred. "I meant Wes." He turned his head to look at the other man. "Little miss knowledge is awake, and by the looks of it, these kids want some answers."

********************

A/N 2: Okay, so I asked for your input on pairings. The only ones I'm cemented on are Draco/Ginny and Dawn/? (someone yet to appear). I'm also pretty sure on Ron/Hermione.

I want to know what you think on pairings for Harry, Buffy, Xander, Faith and Willow. Be inventive! It can be someone in the story, someone in either universe, someone who hasn't appeared in the story yet. I also am very very open minded, so take a chance.

Can you also let me know who you want to see in the story that you haven't seen yet? I have some ideas for people I want to have parts, but I want to know your thoughts as well.

Thanks very much!

Arie


	14. Chapter 13

A/N: I wanted to thank all the people that have reviewed so far. I really wish that I had the time to write to each of you personally, but if I took the time to do that, I wouldn't have the time to write. I just wanted you all to know how much I appreciated it.

And also, I wanted to thank you for your input. I'd still like to hear your ideas for the future of this story. I have something in mind, but I'm always open to suggestions, and they give me the idea on the path the story will take to it's conclusion.

As for the pairings, they still aren't decided past Dawn and her beau (which I'm not saying yet, as it would be a spoiler to my own story, but it isn't Harry), Draco/Ginny, and Ron/Hermione. 

As for everyone else, I've had some good suggestions, but I'd like you to get a little wild on me here. Most of the suggestions have been pretty typical, and pairings that I've seen before. So I want you to get creative. Don't let age, race, magic practice, or gender get in the way! Keep in mind that Angel was over 200, and Buffy just 16 when they met.

Thanks again, and I'm just going to let you get to the story now!

Chapter Thirteen

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Draco Malfoy had never dreamed that he would ever want to switch places with Boy-Who-Lived Harry Potter. After he had become J.J. Summers, the young man had thought it even less likely that he would ever want to be in the shoes of the golden boy.

Then again, he'd never before been in front of Angelus, waiting for a reprimand. Angelus, who was the most violent and sadistic of the four vampires who had once been the Scourge of Europe. The vampire that had taught Spike to be the vicious, sadistic killer that he had become to earn his nickname. J.J. had never thought that he'd be sitting in front of the one vampire who actually scared others of his kind, waiting to be lectured for driving his car.

A car that, in Spike's own words, "the pouf values even more than his nancy-boy hair gel." 

Yes, J.J. had never ever wanted to be Harry Potter. Not even when he caught the snitch from under Draco's nose in a Quidditch match. But now, when J.J. was faced with a glowering, pacing, legendary vicious vampire angry about his most prized possession, and Potter was safely ensconced in Wesley's office with an ex-watcher, a bubbly physicist, and a street fighter who had a hidden love of ballet, J.J. Summers thought that maybe it really wouldn't be so bad to switch places with the Gryffindor.

They'd been sitting there for five minutes already, waiting for the vampire to say what ever it was that they had been hauled in his office to hear. But he seemed determined to just pace and glower at them.

J.J. cast a glance over to Dawn. She was sitting in her chair with her arms and legs crossed, her right foot kicking impatiently back and forth. Her fingers were drumming against the upper arms where they were resting.

When she caught J.J.'s eyes, she rolled her own at him, and threw an exasperated glare at the vampire.

The former Slytherin had seen that look in her eyes before, and he almost felt sorry for Angel. Almost. Because the vampire had kept them waiting for their reprimand, making J.J. anxious. J.J. didn't like the feeling.

"Okay, Angel, we get it. Dark, brooding avenger. About to dole out our punishment. Yeah, yeah, we understand. Just get on with it already!"

Angel swung his full attention to the teenaged girl, a look something akin to shock on his face.

"Oh, get over it! Buffy's my sister. She kicked your ass to hell and back, and I still talk back to her. Just get with the lecturing, k?"

Angel schooled his face into whatever his usual expression was, but it still looked very much like a scowl to J.J. The vampire pulled out his chair and sat at the desk the teens were sitting in front of, and propped his elbows on its surface, tenting his fingers together. He sighed unnecessarily.

"Dawn," Angel said, the first word that had left his mouth since telling them to sit down as soon as they had entered the office. "You really are more like your sister than you'd ever want to admit to."

J.J. hadn't been expecting Angel to say that. He'd only ever met the vampire on one other occasion, the day that they had moved into the Hyperion Hotel. From what he'd heard of Angel, he was stern and broody. He didn't have a sense of humour, and he certainly didn't smirk, something the vampire looked like he was now trying very hard not to let himself do in reaction to the expression on Dawn's face.

"Fine, I'm Buffy." Dawn uncrossed her arms and waved a hand dismissively at Angel. "Yell at us about the car, already. Or just let us go home. I have to take a bunch of English witchy-people to their first day of normal California High School tomorrow."

"Dawn . . . "Angel warned, almost growling.

"Fine, say whatever it is you want to say," Dawn acquiesced

"First off, how did you get my car in the first place?"

"You keep it at the hotel, remember? With the keys available, in case anyone has to move it. You don't trust the W+H motor pool with your baby. Although, after getting a glimpse of all the other cars around here . . . " Dawn trailed off as Angel glared at her menacingly. "Sorry."

"Maybe I should have asked why it was that you were driving my car. After all, you should have known better. And something tells me that Buffy didn't let you take it." He pushed himself out of his chair and walked around the desk to lean on the edge near where they were sitting, and glared at them. "Nearly every vampire in this town knows what my car looks like. They tend to try to play tough when they see it, try to challenge me. That's why I had a vampire detector put on it."

So that was how he had known to show up at the parking lot. Of course, he could have shown up sooner. And why didn't he? Wolfram and Hart was really close, as J.J. had learned on the ride from the mall, and that vampire had looked like he had been standing at the car for a while. Why hadn't Angel jumped in to help?

"They were waiting for me, Dawn. You're both supposed to be protecting those kids, not dragging them into danger!" The vampire seemed dangerously close to yelling, but J.J. had the feeling that Angel never yelled, that the low, disapproving growl was far worse than any yelling could have been. "Those vampires could have killed those kids! And Cordelia's vision was given to her so that we could keep them safe. She's my connection to The Powers, and important enough that we're getting her visions even though she's not awake to tell us about them. So, this is pretty damned important. And instead of protecting them, you two risked their lives to look cool to J.J.'s school friends? To show off with the car? And then again with those vamps?" Angel got up and started pacing again, Dawn glaring at him as he returned to his spot behind the desk.

J.J. was about to protest the term friends when Dawn spoke up first, standing from her chair in anger. "One, they aren't his friends." She started counting on her fingers. "It's obvious they don't know him at all. Two, we didn't take the car to look cool, we took it to blend in. Three, the van may be safer, but it's wicked conspicuous with the blocked out windows. Four, I needed J.J. there, so I lured him with the car. And I'm glad that I did. Those boys are awful to him, and he should have got something out of the trip."

By this point, Angel had stopped pacing and had turned to look at Dawn. She really was very much like her sister.

"Besides, if we hadn't been there to fight them, which wasn't showing off, by the way, or if they hadn't been waiting there to ambush you in the first place, then they would have been draining shoppers dry all over the parking lot!" She stopped her rant and looked sheepish, the fact that she'd been yelling at Angel, vampire and CEO of Wolfram and Hart finally sinking in. She sat abruptly in her chair at the realization.

"These kids need to be protected at all costs, Dawn. They are obviously extremely important to The Powers. You shouldn't be putting them in any unnecessary risk. Especially just to get some adrenaline rush from driving my car and dusting some vamps. You should have run."

J.J. knew it wasn't a smart thing to do, but his patience had been wearing thinner and thinner since picking up the others at the airport. And seeing the look of embarrassment on Dawn's face had broken the last of it.

"I wanted to take the car, not her. Don't you dare blame her. It was the only way that I would go, and she thought it was a good idea that I be there. Besides, we would have been home before dark, before anyone tried to make a name for themselves by attacking the great Angelus, whose car we so happened to be driving. But it was Buffy that suggested otherwise." J.J. stood from the chair and leaned on Angel's desk, glaring at the vampire that stood stiffly on the other side. "Buffy trusts us to be able to take care of ourselves, and, more importantly, to take care of the Gryffindor four, even if you don't. She knew we were in your car, and, other than the fact that we really should have asked, she didn't care. Don't you dare yell at Dawn and pretend I don't exist. We were both there!" He leaned further forward on his arms, becoming angrier. "Besides, those were just regular vamps. We didn't dust them for an adrenaline rush, we dusted them because that's what we do. Moreover, they were nothing compared to those things we spent the last year fighting in Sunnydale. They were child's play. Of course, seeing as you didn't bother to stick around for the last fight, you wouldn't really know that, would you?" 

J.J. took a breath, trying to calm himself, and stuck his hands in his back pockets, remembering Harry's wand when he found it there. He withdrew the weapon and threw it on Angel's desk, flinging himself back into his seat as he did so, his anger nearly spent. "You want to talk unnecessary risk, you should talk to the golden boy and his groupies. Scarhead nearly used his wand tonight. I know that he and I are legal wizards now, but I'm sure that that little fact won't stop my father from having someone at the Ministry tracing the magic that comes from that wand, and the wands of the others, just like he'd be tracing mine. If any of them uses magic outside of the protection of Willow's wards, we'll be tracked. I don't want them found, because if they get found, I get found. Talk to them about risk and protection. It's magic more than anything that will get us killed. Maybe if you don't want them dead, or me, you should tell them not to use their wands in public unless it's a last resort. They shouldn't be using wand magic until every member of Champion Industries that they are with is dead."

Angel leaned against the back wall of his office and examined J.J. closely.

It was no wonder that Spike had called this boy his son. J.J. was every bit of what his name implied, Spike's junior. His words, his actions, and his mannerisms, were all Spike. Even the fact that he managed to think things through in a crisis, a trait that Angelus had never possessed that Spike had acquired over the years, was present in the boy. He even physically resembled Spike, if more so before he had dyed his hair.

The teens looked almost like twins, their hair streaked in every natural hair shade. Angel didn't need to ask to know that J.J. had done it to erase the reminder of Spike every time he looked in the mirror. Ironically enough, it was just the kind of rash thing that Spike would have done out of grief. Dawn had done it out of solidarity for someone who Angel was sure that she thought of as a brother. He was curious as to why they had gone with the colours they had chosen, but the kids were mad, and now was not the time to ask.

Perhaps Angel had overreacted about the car. The kid had had a point. He'd had several, in fact. Not the least of which was that these two kids had fought in the final battle against the First Evil, while he had simply listened to Buffy and returned to Los Angeles, leaving her to fight alone.

"You're right, J.J. Getting caught by the people that are looking for Harry, and for you, would have been worse then getting attacked by those vampires. They were obviously something you could handle."

The way that Angel had said the last made J.J. think that Angel had in fact gotten to that lot in plenty of time to take out those vampires. But he had chosen to let Dawn and J.J. handle it. Had he wanted to test them?

"I'll be sure to have Buffy talk to them about it, alert them to the consequences if they use their wands here." Angel walked forward and leaned on his desk again, looking at the teens. "Speaking of Buffy, you should go get the others, and I'll have Wes and Gunn take you back to the Hotel while I call her." He picked up Harry's want and threw it at J.J. "I'll let Buffy know about that," he nodded at the wand. "I'll let her deal with it. But give him his wand back. Chances are, if he doesn't have it, he'll need it."

Dawn looked at Angel, the shock evident on her face. "You lecture us, but you're not even going to say a word to them? How fair is **that**?" 

Angel leaned further over his desk to look at them. "Harry and those kids are Buffy's mission now, her responsibility. Legally, you two may be hers as well, but morally is another story. Spike thi . . ." Angel almost slipped, forgetting that the teens had no idea that Spike was haunting these very offices, in all probability watching them at that moment. "Thought of you two as his. Which, in my world, makes you my family, and my responsibility."

The teens could see by the look in his eyes that he was serious, and J.J. was strangely touched by the gesture. Spike may not have liked the other vampire, but he had always respected the familial ties they had had. J.J had discovered this when Spike had asked Faith about his Grandsire's health. Of course, he had called him the Great Pouf. But that was just covering, and all of them had known it.

"Now go," Angel told them. "You have school in the morning."

Dawn and J.J. stood and headed for the door. "One more thing, you guys," he paused till they turned to look at him, his next words confirming J.J.'s suspicions about his presence at the fight. "That was some nice slaying. You two reminded me very much of Buffy and Spike."

J.J. started to smile at the thought, but Angel's next words stopped him. "Being like Spike isn't always a good thing, J.J. He was rash, and he always wanted to be the guy in charge, either the villain, or the hero."

"As opposed to you, who suffers through your good deeds, like it's a job instead of a calling? And who was the one that gave up the amulet?" J.J. spat. "Who was the one that gave up the champion position? And who was the one that took it, and the amulet, and used it to save the world?"

"His taking it got him killed, didn't it?" Angel returned, the fact that Buffy had chosen Spike as her true champion still a painful thorn in his side.

"Least he had the balls to do what needed doing." With that, J.J. turned and talked angrily towards the door, muttering words that he knew Angel could hear. "Spike was right. You are a pillocky git!"

Dawn shot Angel an apologetic look for J.J.'s words, even if at the moment she couldn't fault the boy for them.  She turned and rushed after her friend, closing the door softly behind her.

Angel slumped back in his chair, not daring to hope that the exchanged hadn't been listened to.

"He's right, you know. You are a pillocky git."

"How did I know that you were listening, Spike?" Angel closed his eyes, wondering when this day would be over.

"Don't go to sleep on me now, you big ponce. You have a phone call to make."


	15. Chapter 14

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you to RyianaT, who has agreed to be my beta. This version is now the beta'd version of the chapter!

Thank you very much to all of my reviewers. You are all very important to my writing and my inspiration.

I'm very sorry that it's taken over a month to update, but I just couldn't get where this chapter needed to go. But after the Angel finale, SOB, my muse spoke up and gave it some direction, though I'm still nervous about it. There also seems to have been some rocks shaken loose, and I can see clearly where the next few chapters are specifically headed. I apologize for the delay again. I can't express how crappy it feels to have to make you guys wait so long.

I also want to ask again for suggestions for pairings. I'm still looking for a Harry pairing (not with Dawn, she's already taken!), a Willow pairing, and maybe a Xander fling (this won't get too heavy, though).

Also, any thoughts on people from the Potterverse that you want to see? Drop me a review and let me know.

Now, on to the fic!

Chapter 14

Wesley got up from his seat and circled around the desk, striding towards the teenagers on the couch. On the way by, he motioned for Fred to bring Ginny closer to the others so that she might be able to hear his explanation. What that explanation was going to consist of, however, Wesley was unsure. How much should the ex-watcher tell them? How much should he leave for Buffy to explain? How much information should they shelter the children from completely?

Wesley hadn't a clue as to what he was going to say to them. They were intelligent children, he knew. And they were not that young, really, even if they seemed so to him. They were older than Buffy when she had been called, after all. They were, with the exception of Ginny, in the same year of school as Dawn and the young Mr. Malfoy, and Draco knew everything that there was to know about life in L.A. with the Scoobies and the gang formerly known as Angel Investigations. Not that they had told him outright, mind you, but he was friends with Dawn, and living with Buffy, and a Slytherin who had a knack for spying. He hadn't been in Sunnydale a week before he knew all about the things that went bump in the night. He knew all the dirty details and he seemed to be okay with it. Maybe the others teenagers would be too.

After all, they weren't exactly innocents. The senior staff of Wolfram and Hart, those individuals who used to comprise the team of Angel Investigations, knew of the Gryffindor student's exploits. They had come up against the worst evil in their world time and again, and had succeeded in escaping with their lives.

Plus, they had seen Dawn and Draco slay the three vampires. And they couldn't be completely unaware of the reason they had been sent, or that the people meant to protect them were something special, something more than the wizards who had already been protecting them.

Wesley knew he could discuss vampires freely. And magic. What he was unsure of, though, was how they would take the news that they were now in the offices of a once evil law firm that catered to demons and dark wizards, and that was now being run by a vampire, albeit a vampire with a soul.

Should he even bring up the fact that Angel was a vampire? He was still unsure of the things he should tell the young people looking up at him expectantly as he took a seat with them. But he had to say something.

"Well," he started, as they gathered around him to listen. "I'm sure that you are all curious about what happened at the mall . . ." he drifted off, still struggling to decide which details they needed to know. Still wondering if he should explain about Angel.

But Hermione spoke up and decided the issue of Angel for him.

"How are we supposed to trust you people?! You work for Angelus!"

"Actually, Ms. Granger is it? The name he goes by now is Angel," Wesley pointed out. "How much do you know about Angelus?"

Hermione, though nervous, allowed a look of pride to flutter across her features. She loved sharing the knowledge she acquired in books with others.

"He was a vampire made in the middle of the eighteenth century. He stayed with his sire, Darla, who taught him to be vicious and cruel, torturing his victims for his own pleasure. He learned so well that he became known as the Scourge of Europe. Angelus and his sire Darla, and two other vampires that they travelled with, Drusilla and William the Bloody, were so ruthless that they were even feared by their own kind. Angelus travelled with them until the beginnings of the twentieth century."

"And what happened to him after that, Miss Granger?"

Wesley and Hermione were behaving as if they were having a tutorial session in Defence Against the Dark Arts, not as if they were discussing a vicious killer who happened to be just down the hall. A sadistic vampire that was alone with Dawn and Draco.

Gunn looked bored, simply keeping on guard. And Fred was only mildly more interested. It appeared as if they had heard all that was being said before. As if, in fact, they knew the information by heart.

The other Hogwarts students, though, were quite in shock. This was what Angel was? This was the owner of the car that they had been driving in? No wonder those vampires had attacked them. No wonder Hermione had been upset at Dawn for withholding the information. They had been driving around in a killer's car!

"There is no record as to what happened to him after that. I've looked him up in every book that I could think of. There is only speculation that he may have met his match." Ron took the opportunity of the break in conversation to roll his eyes at the girl. That was just like her, searching for information that no one ever needed to know.

Hermione caught his look. "I was curious!" she shot at him in response.

"There are no records in any book that the wizarding world would have access to, at any rate." Wesley pointed out.

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Wyndam-Price?"

Wesley visibly flinched at her address. "It's Wesley," he told her gruffly. "And what I mean is that no one wanted the wizarding world to be aware of what had happened to Angelus, to know that it was possible. It would have been disastrous."

"Didn't want wizards to know what was possible?" Harry inquired

"They didn't want wizards to know that you could restore a vampire's soul. That's what happened to Angelus. That's how he became Angel." Wesley looked pointedly at Hermione. "That's the difference in the names, Ms. Granger. Angelus was a soulless demon. Angel has a soul, and fights for the side of good. That's why he left his fellow vampires."

Hermione looked taken aback by the information. Not only was it information that she hadn't been able to find in a book, but it was knowledge that she hadn't had when berating Dawn for her actions. It seemed that she may have been misled by something she had learned from a book. And that was a rare thing indeed.

Harry sat quietly, trying to absorb what they had been told. Angel was a vampire, but he was a good one. Dawn trusted him, even though she fought against his kind. Draco Malfoy had helped them that evening. He had saved Ginny and killed dark creatures. And he had done it without magic. These thoughts were all whirring through Harry's mind, as he struggled to get a grasp on the situation.

The young man was especially concerned with absorbing the things that Wesley was telling them. It was the first information that they had received other than the names of the people they were going to be staying with. And it was surprising information at that. Vampires could be given souls? And wizards weren't allowed to know about it? It had been kept from them on purpose for some reason that Harry couldn't quite see yet. But they had deemed it important for the wizarding world to not know. They. That stuck in Harry's head, and the question seemed to ask itself without Harry's volition.

"Who are they? Who kept the knowledge from wizards? Who could?"

Wesley's response was only one word. "Watchers."

Harry knew the meaning of the word, but not the significance of it in this context. Not what Wesley was meaning by it. But it was obvious, by the widening of her eyes, that Hermione did.

"What's a watcher?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, Hermione, what's a watcher?" Harry asked, carefully studying his best friend's expression. She always seemed to know more about what was going on then they did, with her love of books and her thirst for knowledge. But this was something that she knew about the situation that they now found themselves in, and Harry was fighting the anger he felt building that she hadn't let them in on it.

She knew how upset he was at being sent away from Hogwarts, the only place that he had ever considered to truly be his home. If she had had any knowledge as to why they were being exiled in this, their last year, she should have told them.

"I've read about them, Harry. The same way I've read about a lot of things. Why do you sound so upset?" She was truly puzzled, as if she really could not fathom why keeping this information from Harry might upset him.

Harry stood up and stormed over to the wall of windows that overlooked the city of Los Angeles. "Well, Hermione," he began, his back facing the assembled group. "Watchers obviously have at least some relevance to the situation. Do you think you might have mentioned them before now?"

"I . . . but . . ." Hermione stammered, trying to understand why Harry was so angry. "I just read a short passage about them in _Keepers of Magical Creatures_. I have _no_ idea what they would have to do with us being sent here!" she told him, exasperated.

Wesley, having realized that Harry had mistakenly thought that the girl was hiding something vital from them, strode over to Harry and turned the boy from the window. Wesley knew how it felt to have information kept from him, information that pertained to the situation that he was currently involved with. But this was not such a case. Hermione had no way of knowing that the watchers had anything to do with what was now going on.

The younger man was as tall as the former watcher, allowing Wesley to be able to look into his eyes, willing the Boy-Who-Lived to read the truth in Wesley's eyes, to see that Hermione wasn't conspiring against him.

"If Miss Granger did indeed know of the watchers before now, Mr. Potter, she would have had no way of knowing that they had anything to do with your relocation to California. What the wizarding world knows about us, other than a few select people like Dumbledore, is nowhere near enough that she would have been able to see any connection at all that watchers would have to your new found circumstances. Do not be angry with her." Wesley turned Harry further towards the room, and headed back towards the others, encouraging Harry to rejoin the group. "I'm sure Ms. Granger's knowledge in this area is superficial at best. She would have had no way of knowing that the knowledge would prove useful to you."

Wesley returned to his seat as Harry reluctantly returned to his own. The younger man's emerald eyes caught those of his female best friend. She looked sincerely apologetic. But there was something else in her eyes as well, a look Harry had rarely seen there, doubt and confusion. Hermione honestly had no more idea of what was going on here than any of the others.

The wizard was now even more determined to learn what was going on; who these people were, and how it was they were better equipped to protect them. His curiosity made Harry look at Wesley sharply and intently when the older Englishman started to speak.

"Miss Granger," Wesley started, sounding very much like one of their professors. "Can you tell us what it is that you know about watchers?"

Hermione visibly relaxed at the tone in his voice, slipping into her well-known role as the top student. "The only thing that I have read about them, sir, is that they train and watch over the slayer."

"And do you know what a Slayer is, Miss Granger?"

She shook her head slightly, disappointed at not being able to answer a question. "All I could discover was that the slayer was some kind of warrior against dark creatures, and that they aren't wizards. But they aren't muggles, either. They do have supernatural capabilities, and they are defined as magical creatures. That was all I was able to find."

Hermione shifted her gaze from Wesley to Harry, hoping that he would forgive her for not sharing what little she knew about watchers, and for not knowing that she should have. But if she shared everything that she ever read with her best friends, they would probably stop talking to her from sheer boredom.

Her eyes caught Harry's, and he shot her a sheepish grin, having realized that he had overreacted. He was just so on edge about the whole situation and her brief explanation about watchers had done nothing to help put him at ease.

"So these watchers," Harry asked, "they hid the knowledge that Angel had acquired a soul from the Wizarding World. But I still don't understand why?"

Wesley looked over at Harry, his blue eyes flashing intently, showing the young man that there was far more to the transplanted Brit than was apparent at first glance.

"Because, the only way to restore a soul to a vampire is magically. The fewer people who had the knowledge that it could be done, and the ability and power to actually complete the ritual, the better. As far as I know, there is only one person in the world at this time that has all three of those things. If wizards became privy to these things, they might stop killing vampires, and simply try to restore their souls. It would be especially apt to happen if they had known the vampire in question before they were turned. Such a trend would make a slayer's job very difficult indeed. If a slayer took the time with every vampire to try to ascertain whether or not they had a soul, it would, more likely than not, cost them their lives."

Harry could understand the logic in this. They were dangerous creatures, vampires, as the Gryffindors had learnt earlier that evening. These slayers would be less effective if they had to bring ethical and moral issues into the fight, such as if killing a being with a soul was murder, or simply something that they were born to do. They could not afford to worry about whether or not a vampire had a soul. They would be less apt to kill them if they had to wonder.

"I guess that makes sense." Harry told him. "But one question. You said there was one person that has all of the requirements to restore a soul. Is it Dumbledore?"

Wesley shook his head at the young man's question.

"Is it . . ." Harry tried to ask again, but this time Wesley interrupted him before he could finish. He was fairly certain that the wizard had been about to ask if the person was his enemy, Voldemort. But Wesley couldn't answer the question, couldn't tell them who it was. This tale, Wesley knew, was definitely better left for someone else to tell.

"The answer to your question, I'm afraid, Mr. Potter, is one of those things that is not in my power to tell you. It is not my secret to share. I believe, however, that if you have patience, you will learn the answer before your stay in California is over."

They all sat in silence for a moment, absorbing what they had just learned. Gunn shot a questioning look at Wesley, Fred looking puzzled as well. They both knew who it was that had given Angel his soul, at least, the person who had given it to him the last two times. It would ease the boy's mind, wouldn't it, that such a thing was not a capability of his enemy's? But Wesley just shook his head at them and mouthed, "It's her tale to tell" at his colleagues as the teens were busy looking at each other's reactions.

The moment was broken when Ron looked towards the adults. "That may be all well and good, and we'll accept that," he looked to Harry for confirmation, and the other boy nodded. "For now. But we still want to know something. A slayer is a magical creature, so says Hermione, but what _kind_ of creature, exactly? Are they a type of animal? And how do you know about them?"

At that, Fred choked on a giggle and said under her breath something that made no sense to the teens. "Well, the slayer would be a cow in Pylea."

"Are you going to answer us?" Ron inquired.

The question was directed at all three adults, but Wesley knew it was up to him to answer it. The thing of it was, he was still trying to decide what he should tell them. His lips pressed together in a hard line, his mind reaching a decision, and he started to speak.

"I know about watchers, Mr. Weasley, because I once was one." He held up a hand to ward of their shocked reactions. "I can not tell you all that you wish to know. That I shall leave to Buffy. It is up to her to explain the reason you have come to be in her care." The four Gryffindors were about to protest again when a sharp look from Wesley cut them off. "I will only tell you what I feel I can without breaking the trust of any of the people that I value. The rest I leave up to them."

At this point, Harry crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair. He might have been disgruntled at not being told the whole story right now, but he was determined to learn what he could from this man.

"So, Mr. Weasley. I know what a Slayer is because I was a watcher, and one of the Slayers was my responsibility once." Wesley paused, a look taking over his face as if he were questioning himself. "Or two, really," he continued. "As for what a slayer is, that part is easy to explain. . . " he trailed off, waiting for the four teens in the room to give him their undivided attention. When he received it, Wesley took a deep breath, as if preparing for a great speech.

"Into each generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One, one born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires. To stop the spread of their evil . . . "


	16. Chapter 15

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, guys. This chapter just seemed really slow in coming. The last part took me a long time to write. Thank you very much to Ryiana T for her very dedicated beta work, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed. It keeps my spirits going.

I just wanted to put one review response in here because the person didn't leave their e-mail address. Hestia, _I _wasn't being harsh on Angel, J.J. and Spike were being harsh on Angel. I don't think that J.J. cares at this point what issues Angel had going on, just that Angel handed over the amulet that killed his dad. I just wanted to clear up that it was the character and not the author that was taking out his temper on Angel! Thanks for reviewing, though.

Chapter 15

Angel clenched his fists at his side, wondering if, were he to really, truly want to strangle Spike, he'd be able to manage it somehow.

He kind of doubted it, though.

Why he had let Spike convince him to make the call on the speaker-phone, he'd never know. But he had, and it was turning out to be nothing but an exercise in frustration.

Though, Angel supposed, Spike had a right to hear first hand what was going to happen to the teens that he considered family, and that, in the end, was what led Angel to calling Buffy and allowing Spike to listen in.

Although, had Angel realized that a mute Spike had the same capacity to annoy him as a speaking Spike did, he might have chosen differently.

Because of all the things that Spike was currently doing to aggravate Angel, speaking wasn't one of them. After all, it would never do for Buffy to hear Spike's voice, to know that he wasn't really dead.

Well, not entirely dead, at any rate.

But that didn't stop Spike from making faces, rude gestures, and other such things. In fact, if anyone were to look through the large windows and into Angel's office, it would seem to them that Spike was doing an entire mime routine.

Not to mention the fact that Spike could now focus his energy enough to move small objects, like the pen he was now writing with. When he was done, he picked up the paper with more than a little effort, and caught Angel's attention so he could show it to the other vampire.

Angel wondered if, were he to focus his own energy enough, he could throw a punch at Spike and have it connect.

Not that that would do anything other than alleviate some of Angel's frustration. But then again, if it didn't work, he'd just be more frustrated, in the end.

The dark haired vampire looked at the paper that Spike was waving in his face, and read the one word written there – wand.

"I know, I will," he mouthed at Spike, and motioned to his desk, where the speaker phone was still emitting the diatribe the original slayer had launched into nearly five minutes before.

" . . . besides which, Angel, those kids fought side by side with the slayers during the battle with the first, something you didn't do, by the way."

"But you . . ." he tried to interrupt.

"Sent you away, I know. But that's beside the point! I wasn't finished! They fought the Turok-Han, which are supervamps. If I didn't trust them around normal vamps, I wouldn't have let them go to the mall after dark. Yeah, Dawn and J.J.'s methods may be a bit unorthodox, but that's the way we work at Champion Industries. That's the way I've always worked. And yeah, the kids were put in danger by driving your car, but no more danger than all those teens are in simply by existing. I trust my kids, Angel, and you should too. If I didn't trust them, I certainly wouldn't be letting the Brit invasion go to public high school with them in the morning. Speaking of which, get them home. **Now!**"

Spike frantically motioned at Angel again and then back at the paper. Angel just gave him a frustrated nod.

"Buffy, are you done?" Angel asked, his exasperation evident in his tone.

"For now," she replied. "But you'd better remember that you have no right to yell at them for doing exactly what we've been training them to do. Lord knows, they had a hard enough time convincing us to let them fight in the first place. They shouldn't have to convince you too."

"Fine, whatever," Angel agreed, with no intention of backing off of the kids. They were, like it or not, his family. But he couldn't afford to spend the rest of the night arguing the point with Buffy. They had other business that they needed to discuss, business about the teens. The teens that, if the conversation continued in the same fashion it had been, would be back at the Hyperion before they were done conversing.

At that time, Buffy would have to speak with them. So Angel set aside the argument for the time being, and moved on to more pressing matters.

"What I called you for was for something a little more important than discussing Dawn and J.J.'s fighting habits," Angel paused, waiting for Buffy to accept the change of subjects.

"Well?" she demanded when she had gotten nothing but silence from the stoic vampire for more than a minute.

"Harry drew his wand during the fight," he paused, hearing Buffy's intake of breath as she grasped the situation. "I know that he is a legal wizard, Buffy, but he can be tracked if he uses his wand. You have to make that clear to him. To all of them."

"Oh, don't' worry," Buffy told him, in a tone he recognised as her 'fighting the apocalypse' voice. "I'll make it perfectly clear. Send them home, Angel. It's time, I think, that those kids were let in on the situation. The _whole_ situation. Even the things that Dumbledore thinks that they shouldn't know."

Angel tossed a glare at Spike and mouthed the word 'satisfied' to which the blonde had to, albeit reluctantly, nod his head.

"They should already be on their way."

* * *

By the time that Dawn had caught up to J.J., he'd nearly been to the elevators, and on his way out of the building.

The only thing that would convince him to stay was Dawn pointing out that they were on a job, and, regardless of the fact that Angel had stepped in, they were still responsible for his old schoolmates. Well, they were until they got back to the Hyperion, and traded off with someone else at Champion Industries, at any rate. No matter how much J.J. despised the Gryffindors, he wanted to prove to everyone, and perhaps to himself most of all, that he could accomplish something on his own. That he had talents of his own. That he was good for something apart from being Lucius Malfoy's heir and whipping boy. If he had to save the lives of people that he hated in order to do that, then so be it.

After Dawn had calmed him down, it was because of this that he'd realized she was right. This was, first and foremost, an assignment, one from the Powers That Be, no less. He couldn't let any resentments get in the way of the mission, whether they belonged to him, or Spike.

But that didn't mean he had to let them go. In fact, he was still cursing up a storm at his surrogate great-grandfather. Dawn was just glad that she had managed to get them out of the hallway and into the deserted coffee room before he'd really got going.

Of course, Angel might still be able to hear him, regardless of the enclosed space. He did have the vampire hearing, after all. And, it really wasn't as if J.J. was trying to keep quiet. In fact, Dawn wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to be heard.

" . . . I just cannot believe that he's that big of a git, you know? I seriously thought Spike had to have been exaggerating. That Angel really couldn't be as much of a prat as Spike claimed . . . "

"J.J.!"

". . . of course he's not the prat Spike described. He's twice the prat Spike said he was . . ."

"J.J.!" Dawn repeated, trying to interrupt his rant, as she had been doing for the past five minutes, since she had actually convinced him not to leave the building.

They really needed to get back to their assignment, but Dawn knew that he would never want to be out of control like this in front of the others.

". . . how can he think it's a bad thing to be like Spike? After all, Spike saved the world, didn't he? . . . "

"J.J.!"

". . . and furthermore, all I can ever remember hearing about Angel is that time he tried to end . . . "

"J. J.!!" When her friend ignored her yet again, Dawn decided that it was time to do something drastic. She was prepared, and when he had paused to take a breath in order to continue with his ranting, she thrust a balled up fist into his gut, stealing all of his air so that he couldn't speak.

When he finally was able to breathe again, he straightened and shot her a glare worthy of Spike himself. If one of the other teens presently at Wolfram and Hart had seen it, Dawn was sure that they would have called it the patented Malfoy glare. But not Dawn; she could tell the difference.

When J.J. had first arrived on the Summers' doorstep in Sunnydale, and had still been the Draco Malfoy that the Gryffindors had known and loathed, he had still had that Malfoy glare. It had been full of superiority, hatred, anger and disdain. It had been cold. It had been heartless.

The glare which he now bestowed on Dawn was something else entirely.

It was still cold, still hard, still scary enough to make J.J.'s enemies pee in their pants, as Spike's had been.

But, like Spike, if J.J. were to turn that glare on a friend, that friend would be able to see something entirely different in those icy eyes. A friend would be able to see that the anger was there, but it would be mostly a front. Something he put there to back up his bad boy reputation. A friend would see that, even though he was angry, he wouldn't hurt you. Well, at least not permanently. A friend would see that there was a kind soul under the tough exterior.

A friend would be able to see his heart.

Being as that was what Dawn saw when she met his eyes, she wasn't at all worried. The look he gave her now was pure J.J. Summers.

But she still cringed a little. For appearances sake, of course.

"Bloody hell, Sunshine!! What did you go and do that for?"

Dawn crossed her arms and returned his glare defiantly. She had learned a thing or two from Spike herself.

"You wouldn't stop ranting, all right? And we still have that job to do, you know? The one that convinced you not to storm out of the building in the first place?"

He sighed, hoisting himself up to sit on the edge of one of the room's tables, and kicked his feet in agitation. "I know, I know. I should concentrate on our job. Get it done." He stood again suddenly, as if the mere thought of his argument with Angel drove him to move. "He just made me so angry, Dawn. How could he say those things about Spike? It's like he'd never even met him. Not like they were family.'

She stepped towards him and laid a comforting hand on his arm.

"There's a whole history between the two. I'd tell you all about it, but it's too long of a story to get into right now. Suffice it to say that he's proud of Spike, but he won't let himself admit it." Her hand tightened on his arm, and pulled him towards the doorway. "But, like I said, we have something else we should be doing, and now is not the time to be going into the convoluted dynamics of their relationship. We have to go back to work." She gave his arm another pull, and motioned with her head towards the door.

J.J pulled his arm out of her grasp just far enough so that her hand slipped into his own, and then he gave it a little tug. It caused her to turn back and look into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sunshine. My mind should have been on the job the entire time. I shouldn't be letting the personal stuff affect me."

She saw that there was something else he wanted to say, something deeper than his simple words and the stoic return to the professional front he always tried to present when they were working. There was something under that surface, something he needed to say to her.

She didn't know how to convey to him that whatever he needed to tell her, it was safe to tell her. Since she didn't have the words, she just allowed the sentiment to shine in her blue eyes, and looked at him steadily, hoping that he understood.

He sighed deeply, and fought the urge to look away from her.

"I was so angry, Dawn, and I couldn't stuff it away anymore. I've been fighting against thinking of him all day, and then Angel brings him up, and cuts him down when he does. I just couldn't shrug it off anymore. But I can't let them see that, you know?" He looked down at his shoes. "I couldn't let them see me be weak. I can't let them see who I am now. They won't understand like you all do. They didn't know him, they don't know how he was able to change things." J.J. looked back up at Dawn then, and she could see his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I just miss him so much, Dawn. More than I thought it was possible to miss anything. More than I ever missed Lucius when he went to Azkaban. I just miss him."

She rushed forward and enveloped him in her arms, her own tears flowing freely down her face. "I miss him too, J.J. So very much." She leaned back, intending to wipe away the tears she had been sure would have fallen by now. But his cheeks were dry, his face resolved. The small amount of Malfoy that still lived in him, the aloofness that Lucius had forced into him, would not allow him the luxury of tears. Not once had he cried since she had known him. Since he had lost so many of the things he had come to care for. Since he had lost the man he loved like a father.

"It's not a weakness to miss someone you love that's gone, J.J." she told him as she slipped out of his arms. "It's a strength that you love them to begin with."

She grabbed his arm again, and dragged him with her to the door. "C'mon, let's get back and get them to the hotel. I want to hand this job off to Buffy." She looked again into his face, which was resolutely set in a guarded expression. "And I think after Giles talks to her about what's going to happen with this job, Di might be up for a little sparing. Maybe she'll help you work out some of that anger."

* * *

Giles was stalling, and he knew it. He was listening to his slayer rant about the phone call she had just finished.

He really should go now. He'd only been in the office with Buffy to hear that J.J. and Dawn were all right. To know that they had been successful on their first mission. To know that J.J.'s previous life had not conflicted too badly with his present one. . That the kids that he considered his family were safe.

Of course, he knew he couldn't wait for them to return to have the conversation that he had to have with one of the many slayers who were now his to guide. It would go very badly for all of the people involved in this new assignment if he allowed J.J. and Dawn to arrive at the hotel with their new charges and they were seen by the girl before Giles had his conversation with her.

He should have had this talk with her the minute J.J. had opened up and let them all know that he knew the teens who were the subject of the latest vision from The Powers That Be. But he had been putting it off, using excuse after excuse for delaying the inevitable.

The truth was that he just didn't know how to approach the subject. It was bound to cause turmoil in the girl's life, the arrival of these teens. He had wanted her life to remain as stable as it could, for as long as it could, so he had kept it from her. Between leaving the life that she had once had for Sunnydale, the fight with The First, being activated as a slayer, and having the home that she had known for months swallowed by the earth, Giles had been of the opinion that her life had suffered enough upheaval in recent months. He really hadn't wanted to be the cause of any more.

He had even asked that the staff at Champion Industries not discuss the new case with any of the slayers until the children had arrived at the hotel. Giles had even gone so far as to ask J.J. to not speak to the girl in question about the Hogwarts students until after he had had a chance to talk to her about them himself.

J.J., though counting the girl as a friend he was almost as close to as Dawn, had done as Giles had asked, and not said a word about the job he had begun today. It had to be eating away at his new found sense of loyalty to be keeping a secret like this from someone he had allowed to become a friend. But he had done it, because Giles had told him it was in both of their best interests.

However well intentioned Giles had been at the time, it had become far past the time when he should have told her what was about to happen. In fact, he needed to leave now if he even had a shot of telling her before they arrived at the Hyperion. With the penchant for curiosity that all of the new slayers seemed to have, he was sure she would be in the lobby with the rest of the girls to see their guests if he didn't go speak with her promptly. Angel had said that they had left the Wolfram and Hart offices, and that gave Giles half an hour before they arrived at the Hyperion. He could no longer afford to stand here and listen to Buffy complain.

He was well aware that the original slayer was only using the constant bickering with Angel to fill the empty space she now had after the fall of Sunnydale. But he didn't have the luxury of time to psychoanalyze her at the moment, and he really wasn't ready to accept what he suspected was the cause of her feelings of loss.

"Buffy, I understand why you're upset with Angel, but there is really nothing that I can do about it. If he won't listen to you on the matter, he certainly isn't going to listen to me." With that, he turned and headed towards the door. "I'm sure you'll sort it out," he told her before leaving the office.

He heard her exclamation of "Thanks for the help Giles" just as he started up the stairs. Buffy may have been exasperated at the moment, but there was no trace of a childish whine in her tone. She would have had one before he had gone back to England to try and force her to grow up. And grown up she had.

Giles soon found himself in the hallway some of the slayers had dubbed "Witch Wing." They had named it this because of the people who lived in these rooms. J.J. lived up here, as did Dawn, who wanted to be close to him. She had shown some magical talent of her own in the last little while, and he had asked Willow to help train her so that she would learn under the controlled environment that Willow had not had. Another girl who had a talent for Wiccan magic, Cassidy, lived on the floor as well. Her family followed the craft, so she had more control and a lot more training then Dawn, but Giles had asked Willow to take this girl under her wing as well. Since she was giving the girls guidance, as well as helping J.J. with the work he was receiving regularly from Dumbledore to keep up with his studies, Willow had decided to take a room in this wing as well. Four empty rooms on this floor were made up for the arriving students.

And there was the occupant of the room he was now standing in front of. The other slayers believed the room to be the only one occupied by a non-magic person in this part of the hotel, but given the girl's extremely close friendship with J.J. and Dawn, they thought nothing of it.

They didn't know that she too had been receiving lesson work from Hogwarts. That she too was a witch. Willow had helped the girl study for her O.W.L.s, which the American Ministry of Magic had tested her for in an empty and secret office at Wolfram and Hart. She had been allowed to take them late because of the extenuating circumstances of her situation, and some persuasion from Angel and the law firm.

She had scored well, and had set an American record for the O.W.L. in Defence Against the Dark Arts. So well, in fact, that Dumbledore wanted her to do some of the course work that J.J. and the others would be receiving, to see if she was up to the task. The other courses she would be studying with Ginny. J.J. had told Giles that he didn't think it would be the first time that the girls had done their schoolwork together.

Giles knocked on the closed door in front of him, only opening it when he had heard a dreamy "It's opened" from the other side. He made note that she hadn't actually said anything that could be construed as an invitation, and was proud that she was being careful of her room, even If the hotel was filled with slayers.

When he stepped through the doorway the girl looked up at him with her prominent blue eyes. She was lying on her stomach on the bed, facing the door. A copy of the wizard magazine 'The Quibbler' was held loosely in her hands. Angel had arranged to have the magazine delivered to his offices shortly after they had arrived in L.A. and had them forwarded to the hotel. Giles was not sure how the vampire had known to do it, but the smile that had been on the girl's face at the arrival of all of the issues that she had missed since leaving home for Sunnydale had been enough for Giles to be happy that Angel had done it.

She sat up and ran a hand through her blonde hair. It was very different from how it had been when she'd first arrived. The California sun had painted streaks of lighter blonde throughout it, and she had cut its length before the final fight with The First. It now hung to just below her chin instead of all the way down to her waist. She had said it would be more practical, being a slayer, and the way she had said it had broken Giles' heart a little. She had sounded so resolved to her new life, and despondent about leaving her old one behind.

"Oh, hello Mr. Giles. I thought you might be Dawn or Drake. I'm not sure where they are. They didn't tell me where they were going when they left."

"They're on a job for Champion Industries, Diana, and I asked them not to tell you. That's why I came up here to talk to you."

She paled considerably as he closed the door behind him. The young slayer moved to the edge of the bed and set her feet on the floor, motioning for Giles to sit in the chair by the table.

"Are they all right? Please tell me they're all right." She looked near tears, and Giles felt like a cad. He shouldn't have said it that way. It had made her think that something bad had happened. He was messing this up left and right.

He laid a fatherly hand on her knee and patted it gently. "I'm sorry, Diana. I didn't mean to alarm you. They're both fine." He withdrew his hand and searched for the words he needed to tell her what it was he had to tell her. "What I have to tell you, actually, has to do with where they went and why I asked them to not say anything about it."

He saw the flash of mild surprise in the girl's eyes, but it was gone again quickly. Only a very small number of the slayers actually worked with Champion Industries itself. The rest were training how to be better slayers. There were a number of girls here now that had not even been with them in Sunnydale, but had been found after Willow's activation spell. It wasn't often that these girls were told the details of the jobs that Buffy and the others were doing to support them. If Diana had been expecting to hear anything about this job, it would have been because it was J.J. and Dawn's first solo assignment. The surprise was probably from the fact that they had been specifically asked not to share with her.

There was now a look of puzzlement on her face, and Giles knew that she was wondering why he hadn't wanted her to know what they were doing.

Giles removed his glasses and polished them absently with a cloth that he had drawn from his pocket. He struggled with how to tell her what was coming, and how to apologize for waiting this long to do so. "I should have told you this sooner, Diana. I know I should have. But I fear that it's going to upset your life again, and I was reluctant to do that right after your exams."

She saw his distress about the subject and wanted to assure him that she wouldn't be upset. "I trust your judgement Mr. Giles. I assure you, my watcher prepared me for the fact that a slayer's life is full of abrupt happenings that can change her life completely. It's not as bad as all that, I'm sure."

He looked at her, amazed at her maturity from a girl of barely sixteen. Diana was now about the age that Buffy had been when he had met her. But Diana at that age was about as different from Buffy at that age as night and day. Buffy had still been trying to escape her destiny. Diana, on the other hand, was resigned and accepting. She was grown beyond her years. That was what the war in their world did to people, he guessed. The others who were about to join her in "Witch Wing" were bound to have the same view of the world.

The moniker the others had given the floor, Giles thought, was now going to be rather fitting after all.

He looked into Diana's eyes, and saw strength in them. She could handle this. He hadn't wanted her to have to step back into the dangers of the world she had left. She and J.J. had enough of that in the new world they now lived in. He had wanted to keep her away from the fight, away from the Death Eaters that they were hiding J.J. from. It was why he had changed her name. It was why only a few of them knew who and what she really was.

No, the other slayers didn't know she was a witch. But he knew that would not be the case for long.

"I sent them to the airport, Diana. The vision that Lorne brought to us was about some people from out of the country, and we are bringing them to us to protect them."

Lorne. The girl smiled at the name. All of the slayers had been introduced to him so they wouldn't harm him when he came to the hotel on business. She had liked him instantly. She'd love to be able to write an article about him for 'The Quibbler.' 

Giles noticed her eyes light up at the mention of the green skinned demon. He hoped that what he was going to say next wouldn't make the light in them disappear.

"The vision was about four teenagers being attacked by various creatures. And, when J.J. heard the description of the vision, he was able to identify the people in it. They are who J.J. and Dawn went to pick up." He paused here, waiting for her reaction, but she just nodded at him to continue.

"They are four teens that J.J. assured me you know quite well. But having them here puts you back in the middle of that war. You and J.J. If it hadn't been a vision from The Powers . . . . "Giles trailed off, and the young slayer could tell that a part of him had wanted to turn the job down, to protect them first. But his conscience wouldn't let him. Even if it wasn't a vision from "The Powers", the witch knew Rupert Giles wasn't the kind of man who could turn his back on a person who needed his help. Especially a person that he considered a child. And he seemed to consider anyone under thirty to be a child.

But if these teems dragged her and Drake back into the war, then she had a pretty good idea who they were.

"I'll bet Drake cringed at the thought of Harry Potter being his first solo mission." She giggled at the thought. "But you said there were four of them? Who are the others?"

He nearly started in surprise at her statement. The young blonde slayer was far more astute then she led the world to believe.

"Well, Diana, the other people that are with him are . . ." he had started when she interrupted.

"Oh, will you let me guess? I mean, I was right about Harry, right?" He nodded in response to both questions and she continued. "So, there are three others. I'm guessing they're always with him and that's why they were in the vision. So Hermione and Ronald for sure . . . "she trailed off, and he was going to tell her the name of the other person when she went on. "Oh! Is it Ginny?" He nodded in affirmation. "Oh!" She gave a little bounce of excitement. "It will be nice to have someone in my year to study with." She honestly looked happy about the news, and that wasn't something that Giles had expected.

"Aren't you mad? Or worried?" Giles was surprised by her reaction, and was a bit concerned that she was covering up some other emotions.

"Oh, yes. I'm worried some. But as a slayer I'm always worried about my life a little." She giggled at the look of surprise on his face. "Besides, after fighting The First, you-know-who just isn't as scary anymore." The girl thought about that for a minute and shook her head. "V . . . Voldemort isn't so scary anymore. Voldemort!" She puffed up, very proud of herself for saying his name. "See, it's just a name. I can say it. Voldemort."

"Well, you can say it better than Buffy, at any rate," Giles told her wryly.

Diana had heard of Buffy's penchant for slaughtering names. The favourite of the ones that she had heard was Kissing Toast instead of Kakistos. "What did she call him?"

"Roll the door was the latest one," he told her, a hint of laughter in his eyes.

"We'll have to make her say it as often as possible, and Harry can pick his favourite. That will be what we call him after that." Her eyes took on a thoughtful look then, and Giles wondered about it.

"What are you thinking, Diana?"

She met his eyes with a brilliant smile on her face. "I'm really very glad that they are coming. If we're meant to protect him, we're also meant to help Harry with the war. Roll the Door," she giggled at the name, "will never know what hit him."

"You aren't mad that I didn't tell you sooner?" he asked her, truly puzzled that she wasn't.

She shook her head. "Not really, Mr. Giles." She tilted her head, thinking. "How long have you known that you were bringing them here?"

He inwardly cringed, hoping that, since she wasn't mad now, she wouldn't become that way after he spoke. "About a week."

"Well, then I'm glad you waited to tell me until they were almost hear. I don't think I could have stood the wait." She smiled at him, and Giles felt greatly relieved.

He had risen from his chair and was almost at the door when she spoke again. "Mr. Giles, that many of us in one place, won't we be easier to spot for someone looking for us?"

He was about to respond when she answered for herself. "You aren't hiding J.J. and I anymore, are you? You're really just going to protect us now."

He turned around to fully look at the girl. "You really are not the dreamy girl you pretend to be, are you?"

"Let's just say that I'm better at using a secret identity then Buffy was in high school." Giles gave a chuckle at her words. "Since you aren't hiding us anymore, can I use my real name now?

"Well, Miss Lovegood," she smiled as she heard her name for the first time in months. "We may not be hiding you anymore, but let's not make it easy for them to find you either, all right? You'll still have to register as Diana McClay at school. I won't change my mind about that. The others are going to have different names as well."

Her smile faded a little, but what he said was practical. Luna Lovegood was a very uncommon name. Even Luna was uncommon enough to make it easy to find them.

"And at the hotel, can the others call me Luna?"

"If they want to Di . . . . Luna." She smiled when he used her name again. "But the others all know you as Diana. It might take a while for them to accept the change."

She gave a delicate laugh. "I meant Harry, Ronald," she blushed the tiniest bit when she said his name, "and the girls. I don't really mind if the other slayers still call me Diana."

He smiled at her kindly. "I suppose that would be all right, Luna." He turned to look at her when he reached the doorway. "They should be here very soon. Would you like to come down to meet them?"

She stood up and went to the small dresser in the room. "I'll be in the basement with the punching bag. Tell Drake. I think he might need to work out some anger after being with four Gryffindors for so long." She said it so matter-of-factly that it took him aback. She had blame in her voice for neither J.J. nor the others. She was friends with all of them. She just knew they were not friends with each other. Perhaps the girl could change that, and help the teens see each other for the people they really were, instead of the people that Hogwarts and other people had forced them into being.

"Perhaps you are right."

"Mr. Giles, if they don't know I'm here, and Drake hasn't told them, will you wait for me to tell them myself?"

"Of course, Miss Lovegood. As long as you do it tonight. You all have school together in the morning."

"Of course."

He nodded, and shut the door behind him, leaving her to change for her anticipated sparing match with J.J. He sincerely hoped she'd be able to help her friends see J.J. for who he had become, and help them forget who he had once been.


	17. Chapter 16

A/N Once again, I have to bow down to my lovely beta Ryiana T, who did amazing work and was very encouraging about this chapter, that ended up coming out in fits and spurts. Sorry about the long wait, folks.

Also, a special thank you for each and every person that has reviewed. Nothing turns a bad day around as much as finding a new review in my mailbox. You guys always give me the warm fuzzies. Thank you so much!

**Chapter 16**

Ginny was sitting in the back of a stretch limousine, gazing out at the city lights of Los Angeles. She would have never thought that she would be in a muggle limousine, never mind one that was moving through the brilliant streets of Hollywood and owned by a vampire.

Well, technically, Wolfram and Hart owned the car. But Angel ran the company, and that amounted to the same thing in her eyes.

The young witch's mind was whirling so fast that it was very hard to pin down any one thought long enough to examine it.

So many things had happened in the past few days, even the past few hours, that she could scarcely believe it was reality.

They had been told, in no uncertain terms, that they were not going to be heading back to Hogwarts this year. It was too dangerous for them there. Voldemort, it seemed, had recruited some terribly evil allies, and he was certain to plan an attack on Hogwarts or Hogsmede if they remained at the school.

At least, this was according to a man who knew Dumbledore. They hadn't been told why the headmaster trusted this man enough to remove them from school, and they certainly hadn't been told who this man was. All that they were told was that they were not going back to school. Instead, they were going to stay with a group of strangers they had no reason to trust, in a place unknown to the Order. It was better that way, Dumbledore told them. They would be able to keep in touch through a third party, but the last they would actually see of any of the Order would be the guards that took them to catch their plane at Heathrow airport. The plane that would take them to California.

That had stunned them. California.

Not only were they going to stay with people they had never met, people that "aren't witches or wizards, per say, but you can't exactly call them muggles, either," but they were going to be living in America. In California, away from the wizarding world. They would be living like American muggles.

Harry had been livid. They were treating him more like a child at 17, when he was a legal wizard, then they had treated him at 14 after the Triwizard tournament. Ron had been upset at the fact that they were going to be missing his last year as captain of the Quidditch team. Hermione had been distraught when she had to give up her Head Girl badge to Padma Patil, but had tried to look on their exile as a learning experience. Whereas Ginny . . .

Ginny was still trying to make up her mind about the situation.

It wasn't as if she hated school. It was Hogwarts, after all, and a very interesting school to go to. She enjoyed all of her classes. Even potions, though the others students seemed to despise it. Ginny thought potions, if you could overlook the fact that Snape was a biased and cruel git and just do the lessons, to be a great class. And, though she would admit it to no one, she actually thought of it as one of her favourites.

But, apart from the classes about magic, which they had been assured they would still be studying, regardless of where they were living, there wasn't anything that was holding Ginny to the school.

Being a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team was fun enough, she supposed, but it just wasn't the thrill for her that it was for the boys. Perhaps when Harry and Ron graduated, people would actually realize that she was on the team, notice that she had some talent of her own. There would also be the added bonus of her big brother, and her surrogate big brother, gone, and unable to berate her for practicing what they considered 'unnecessarily dangerous' Quidditch moves. Sure, she'd miss the game, she guessed, but it was not enough to make her pine for home like the others would, or enough to make her despise the idea of living in the U.S.

Ron had expressed worry to her about her having to leave her friends all behind. He, at least, would have his two best friends with him, he had told her. The comment had stung a great deal. The reason for that was twofold. For one, it hurt her that her brother didn't think of Harry and Hermione as her friends as well, or himself as a friend of hers, for that matter. She had had a very hard time making friends after the incident in her first year, and had spent most of the rest of her time at Hogwarts in the company of her brothers and their friends. It also hurt her that Ron paid so little mind to her life that he hadn't realized that the only real friend she'd ever managed to make hadn't returned to school after Easter break in her fifth year. Other that the 'golden trio', Luna was the only person she thought of as a friend, and Ron seemed to have not even realized that Ginny had had no friends to speak of after the girl's disappearance.

She'd thought a lot about Luna today. That lady at Wolfram and Hart, Fred, (she'd had a little chuckle with Ron over the fact that a girl shared the name of one of their mischievous twin brothers), had reminded her a little of Luna. Also, there was the sudden and unexpected reappearance of the other student that had gone missing last year. It had sparked the hope in Ginny that the same thing might occur with Luna. The girl had simply never returned from holidays, and all Ginny knew was what it said in the owl she got from the girl. Luna had told her simply that her father had decided that it was too dangerous to go back to school, and that she would get in touch with Ginny when she could. But Luna hadn't written to her since. The fact that Draco had popped back into their lives so simply had made Ginny wonder if Luna could return the same way.

But of course not. Things like that never happened to good people, like her or Luna. They only ever happened to Death Eating gits like Draco.

But that statement lacked conviction, even if she'd only made it in the confines of her own mind.

She looked over to where he was sitting. She was still amazed that the back of a regular muggle car could hold the eight people in it. The Slytherin was sitting up near the front by Dawn, staring sullenly out the window. His arms were crossed and he looked as if he was trying to disappear into the leather seats. Dawn was having a whispered conversation with Wesley and Gunn, who had been ordered to take them back to the Hyperion, whatever that was. The girl was trying to draw the boy beside her into the discussion, but he would just shake his head and sink deeper into his seat.

Yes, Ginny couldn't be as sure about his status as a future Death Eater as she had been back in fourth year when she'd hit him with the Bat Bogey hex.

The pouting boy in the back of the car with her wasn't the same boy that was proud to be one of Umbridge's lackeys. His looks had changed so much that he was barely recognizable. He'd changed his hair, and it was no longer a badge that proclaimed him a Malfoy. His clothes were that of a typical muggle teen, and his hair matched. His whole look was something that Ginny would have never thought to see on Draco Malfoy. Hell, it seemed that he didn't even use that name here.

There was also some kind of mark on his left forearm, in the place generally reserved for the Dark Mark on Death Eaters, and it had concerned her for a moment. But she was positive that it couldn't be. Dumbledore would have never sent them here if that were the case. The headmaster would have known. Snape was a very loyal spy for the order, and if Malfoy had been initiated into the ranks of Voldemort's Death Eaters, Snape would have known, and told the order. The mark had to be something else. Ginny was surprised that she was as curious about it as she was. But she supposed she just wanted reassurance that it wasn't a skull, and that there was no more to her curiosity than that.

His appearance wasn't the only thing about him that had changed, though.

He'd fought vampires. Draco, the boy who had been scared of the forbidden forest, according to her brother. The boy who had been overly melodramatic about a scratch from a Hippogriff. This boy had fought vampires earlier that evening. He'd done it without magic, no less. He'd gone after them physically, with muggle fighting techniques. And it had helped save her life.

Not helped saved her life, Ginny forced herself to admit. Saved her life. He'd done it as efficiently as Harry had in the Chamber of Secrets in her first year. Sure, she'd been conscious and able to move at the time, which had helped with her rescue. But Draco had known what to do, and had killed her captor. He'd vanquished the thing that had tried to kill her. The thought made Ginny warm all over.

Or it had, until Angel had shown up and Ginny had been forcibly reminded that his actions had nothing to do with her personally, but instead had to do with the fact that she was his responsibility. Whatever his new life consisted of, certain things seemed to be expected of him. One of those expectations was that he would be keeping the four Gryffindors alive. He hadn't done what he had done because he wanted to help her, but because of necessity and obligation.

But there had been something, some miniscule flicker in his eyes when he'd seen her in that vampire's arms, that told Ginny that he might just be the tiniest bit regretful if she were to die.

That thought brought Ginny to the most significant change in Draco. Well, what she saw as the most significant change, anyways. The redhead knew others would say it was his clothes, or his hair, or that his best friend was nothing more than a muggle. But not Ginny. If someone were to ask her, Ginny would say that the most noticeable change in Draco Malfoy was the look in his eyes. The change in them was nearly unbelievable to her.

The eyes of the Draco Malfoy that she'd hexed back in her fourth year had been cold. They'd been superior, calculating, and gleeful at the thought of causing them a lot of trouble. But the most distinct thing about them was that they had been truly heartless. Draco Malfoy had been a boy who had never been taught any of the warmer emotions. He'd been taught to hate, to be cruel, to use malice to his advantage. He'd been taught to be the best, to believe himself above all others, and to have utter contempt for anyone whose status was not equal to his. All of that could be seen if you looked deeply enough into his eyes. At least, that had been the case for Ginny. But she had learned something else when she'd looked into those steel colored eyes on that fateful day, for she had also seen confusion in them. He had not understood the bond between his enemies. He couldn't grasp their unshakeable belief in the cause they were fighting for, and their trust in their allies. He really couldn't understand why they fought, and what it was that made them fight so hard, what gave them their determination to fight on the side he was sure would lose. They fought with their hearts, and he couldn't comprehend that. The confusion in his eyes, Ginny had known, was because he couldn't make sense of their belief, because he had no beliefs of his own. He simply did as he was instructed by his father.

The other reason for his confusion was that he didn't understand their feelings, their friendship, their loyalty, their love. He had never felt these things for himself.

It had softened Ginny a bit towards Draco, looking into his eyes and coming to know in a flash of revelation that he didn't recognize love because he had never had any, not even from his parents. He was simply a pawn for them to use for their own gain.

Though seeing all of this in his eyes had been a sudden and surprising realization for Ginny, and a sudden discovery of a talent for empathy her mother had told her ran in the family and that she might someday possess, it had not been enough for her to forgo the bat bogey hex she had shot at him. He was, no matter his reasons, their enemy. But the discovery she had found in his gaze had made her think, later on, of Draco Malfoy in a way that had nothing to do with how she could make his life unbearable.

The eyes that he had looked at her, at all of them, with since they had arrived in Los Angeles were not the eyes that had widened in surprise when he had been hit with Ginny's hex. There were all sorts of emotions in them now that she was sure had never even been possible for him to have before.

Instead of the blinding hatred she would have expected of him when he looked on the 'golden trio', she had instead seen resignation, a sense of responsibility, and resentment and annoyance. He still seemed to dislike the three, but it wasn't with the unqualified and unwarranted hatred that he'd possessed at Hogwarts.

Draco's eyes, when he had spoken with Dawn, were the eyes of someone else entirely. This had been especially true when he had come back after shopping with Harry and Ron in the mall. There was loyalty, friendship, and caring in his eyes when he had looked at Dawn. And when the subject of his hair had come up, strangely enough, it had caused a flash of grief to dart through them.

What had happened to Draco since he had left Hogwarts, Ginny didn't know. What she did see, though, was that someone had taught the boy about things he had never learnt before, and the lesson had come at a great price. He had been taught to love, because only someone who could love could feel the kind of grief she had seen in him. And only the loss of someone you loved could cause that kind of emotion.

Had he had a girlfriend? The thought caused a weird stab of some unknown emotion to pass through Ginny, but she didn't stop to analyze it. She shouldn't be having emotions about Draco Malfoy, other than the regular loathing, of course. Then again, it was probably just pity for his supposed loss that she was feeling. After all, this person seemed to be the reason that the Slytherin was now a tiny bit human.

But Ginny dismissed the idea of a girlfriend as she remembered Dawn's soft words to Draco in the food court. _"It was really brown, you know. He had to dye it to get it this colour." _ The girl had been referring to the natural platinum colour of Draco's hair, and that someone had had hair that colour, though they had had to dye it that way, whatever that meant. And that person was a he.

Maybe it was a boyfriend that he'd lost? She gave a mental snort at the thought. No. Ginny Weasley was pretty sure that Draco Malfoy didn't fancy boys. After all . . .

She blushed at the direction her thoughts were about to take, and cut them off abruptly. It really wouldn't do to start thinking about that again. Especially with him not ten feet from her.

Ginny chanced a glance at the boy who occupied her thoughts. He was staring out the window, the sunglasses he'd worn earlier in the day stowed away in his front pocket. 

As if sensing her gaze, he suddenly turned to her and their eyes locked. His eyes were filled with a deep sadness, anger, and something else she didn't want to name, but that created a small lick of fire in her belly.

It hit Ginny fully at that moment that this boy before her was not the Draco Malfoy that she had known. Draco Malfoy had had a grey gaze of hard steal, inherited from his father. Whereas the boy who looked at her now, this boy who these people called J.J. Summers, had eyes that flashed silver.

As if he had sensed the train of her thoughts, he slid his sunglasses out of his pocket, slid them on his face, and turned as away from her as he could get in the car.

Yes, if anyone ever asked her, Ginny Weasley would have to say that the most distinctive change in the Slytherin was the change in his eyes.

But she certainly couldn't say that it was the most sudden change. If the redhead were honest with herself, she'd have to admit that his eyes had started to change before he'd even left Hogwarts. She'd seen the beginning of the change up close and personal, that day of the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match in the snow, the last day anyone at Hogwarts had seen Draco Malfoy.

* * *

The weather had been terrible. The storm had been a combination of snow, sleet, and freezing rain, and had resulted in all of the players freezing to their broomsticks. Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin 170 to 60, Harry having made yet another spectacular game ending catch of the snitch. Although her team had won, Ginny Weasley had felt very little like celebrating. The game had ended with the redheaded chaser being wet, frozen, and developing a case of the sniffles.

Not only that, but the taunts that her brother and Harry had been throwing at Malfoy had really gotten under her skin. Not that she felt sorry for the Slytherin git. Not at all. She gave as good as the rest of them when it came to Draco Malfoy. She'd gotten in his way of tailing Harry for the snitch at every opportunity, taunted him about the bat bogey hex she'd hit him with the year before, and she'd even managed to knock him off of his broom without getting a penalty for it.

But she had still thought that Harry and Ron had aimed below the belt with their jeers. Granted, it was something Malfoy regularly did himself when taunting them, but Ginny still felt it had been in bad taste to twit him about his father being in Azkaban, especially since they'd been partly responsible for putting Lucius there. All in all the game on that snowy December day had put her in a foul mood and she had been decidedly annoyed with herself for having any kind of soft feelings for Draco whatsoever, even if it was simply pity.

She'd taken an extra long time to shower, not only to allow her frozen body to warm up, but also to avoid being dragged up to the victory party by her teammates. She was in a sour temper, and just wanted to be on her own for a while.

Because of this, she had found herself quite alone and almost out past curfew in the hallways that led to the kitchen. She had been hungry after the game and, though she could have gone up to Gryffindor tower and eaten at the party that would certainly still have been carrying on, she had craved just a few more minutes of solitude.

She had been on her way to beg some food from Dobby when she'd been thrown into the wall by the angry body that had brushed by her as if he owned the corridor.

Ginny looked up after catching her breath to see Draco Malfoy striding away as if he hadn't even noticed the collision.

"Hey, ferret-face!! The least you could do is apologize for nearly running me over," she'd yelled at him, the echo of her voice in the hall freezing him in his tracks. "If you do it nicely enough, I might even decide not to hex you, this time."

He turned around, and the look on his face had made her instantly regret saying anything to him. She should have let it go, and been happy that he'd ignored her existence.

He had stridden back towards her, his eyes flashing almost silver in the dim light of the dungeon corridor.

"It's you!! Why are you always here? Why are you always around? Why can't you leave me alone? Why can't I escape you?" By the time he had finished his little tirade, he had reached the spot where she stood, pushed her back against the wall, and had trapped her with an arm on either side of her head.

Ginny had felt a flash of fear, but had refused to let it show on her face. She was a Weasley. She was tough. She had six older brothers, two of whom had made pranking a way of life. She was a Quidditch player. She was in Gryffindor, house of the brave. She'd once managed to land a great hex on the Slytherin who was now threatening her. She didn't have to be afraid of Draco Malfoy. And she certainly would never allow that fear to show if she did have it.

Ginny had pulled herself up to her full height, which was considerably less than that of Draco's, and had raised her chin defiantly, meeting his steely gaze with one of her own. It was then, at that moment, that Ginny had seen the beginning of the change that would happen to Draco's eyes before she would next see him. Instead of the ruthlessly superior look that she had been accustomed to seeing, his eyes had borne a look of uncertainty, loss of control, and the tiniest bit of something else Ginny couldn't quite name.

"Because you want to," she finally told him, and his eyes had widened, letting her know that he really hadn't expected a response to the question. The only reason that she'd answered, really, was because she had wanted to taunt him. He'd caught her off guard, and had caused a quick flash of fear in her that she had needed to squelch. So she'd found her Gryffindor backbone and had decided to fight back. "You can't escape me, snake boy, because you want to." She had pushed herself up on her toes, trying to get as in his face as she possibly could. "You want to, and I will never let you get what you want." She had laughed at the incredulous expression that had overtaken his face. Score one more for the Weasley team.

While she had still had the element of surprise, she had dropped back down to her heels, had pushed his left arm away from the wall, and had stepped away from him.

She had started to stomp up the corridor while she still had the upper hand, but she hadn't been able to resist the opportunity to attack him while he appeared to be down. Spinning around, she had found him still staring after her as if unbelieving that she had actually managed to get away from him.

"See, I managed to escape. Perhaps you just aren't smart enough." She had shaken her head, no closer to comprehending what the hell he had been talking about then she had been when he'd forced her back against the wall. "What in the ruddy hell are you talking about anyways, ferret? Can't get away from me? Can't escape me?" She'd propped each of her fists on a hip, and had tilted her head to the side to look at him quizzically. "I think that you might have concussed yourself in that fall off of your broom, Malfoy. I'd recommend a visit to Madame Pomfrey." His eyes had narrowed at her statement. "Has it escaped your notice, git, that this is a boarding school? Could that be the reason that I am always around? It means, Malfoy, that not only do I go to school here, but I live here too. Unbelievable that I'd tend to be around the place that I live. Honestly, I thought that you were meant to be smarter then those gorillas you hang around with."

He had still been looking at her as if she had been speaking a foreign language. Exasperated now, Ginny had decided that she had spent enough of her day trying to puzzle out Draco Malfoy. He was not worth the time.

Besides, she still had not had anything to eat. And she'd be out past curfew as it was if she was still intent on sneaking into the kitchens to visit Dobby.

Deciding that she was hungry enough to risk the loss of house points, she'd turned away from him and started, once again, to head towards her original destination.

She had only managed to take three or four steps before Draco had broken out of his shocked stupor and had, with his seeker reflexes, caught her and once again backed her against the nearest wall. This time, he had kept a hand on each of her shoulders so that she would not be able to escape him as easily.

"What is it with you, Weasley? Why aren't you afraid of me, like the rest of the school? Why can you get to me? Why can't I control you?" He had shaken her slightly, and she'd wondered if she should really start to worry if the fall that she'd caused had resulted in some damage that would be affecting his current mental state. "I should be able to control you. I should be able to control you like I can control the other students in this school. You should fear me, but you don't. I don't have control." He had shaken her again, and Ginny had silently agreed with him about his lack of control. "I don't control anything anymore. Not my choices, not my future, not my life, and certainly not you." He'd leaned into her then, his eyes level with her own, and they'd flashed silver, setting off butterflies in her stomach, the kind that Ginny had only ever felt for Harry before.

Actually, if Ginny were to be completely honest with herself, the look she'd seen in Malfoy's eyes had done things to her that Harry Potter's eyes had never managed to do.

"I can't even control myself! I can't keep away from you. You're everywhere. In the halls, at meals, at Quidditch. Even here. I'd thought I was free, that I would never see you again." The statement had caused Ginny to furrow her brows in confusion, but he had continued to talk, not giving the redhead a chance to decipher his words. "But still, here you are." He had raised his right hand to stroke her cheek, brush her hair behind her ear, his left hand keeping her pinned against the stone. The sparks she had felt as his Quidditch roughened fingers had brushed against her cheek had caused her eyes to widen in surprise. He had leaned closer still, and when next he spoke, his warm breath had fanned across her cheek, causing shivers to trip down her spine. "You're in my thoughts, you're in my dreams," he had again stroked her hair, and the action had caused her breath to quicken. The air had taken on a tension and a thickness, pressing in on them with an almost physical weight, cocooning them in a world all of their own. "Merlin, Ginny." His voice had taken on a husky quality. She had found, much to her personal consternation, that she very much enjoyed the sound. "I might never see you again." He had leaned towards her, brushing his nose through her hair as if he were smelling it. "How am I supposed to never see you again?"

Draco had pulled away slightly then, allowing his gaze to travel back to her eyes. "What the hell are you doing to me, Weasley?" He had shaken her yet again, but both the shake and the way he had said her name lacked the usual Malfoy venom. His gaze had drifted to her lips, lingering there, and something in his eyes had hardened slightly, as if he had made a decision. "Well, sod it all."

Before Ginny had been able to figure out what he was intending, his lips were fused to hers, his hands fisted in her hair, his arms pulling her against him. Just as suddenly as the kiss had started it had ended, with Draco pushing her bodily away from him.

Ginny had blinked open her eyes in surprise and, though shocking to her, acute disappointment at the loss of contact.

Draco's sudden and unexplained actions had left Ginny's mind spinning, her body singing, and her heart pounding. Her breath had quickened, and her face had flushed. She'd looked at him and Malfoy had appeared to be as surprised by the kiss as she had been.

He had taken a couple of quick steps backwards and had wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. Not in disgust, Ginny had thought, but more like if he could erase the taste of her kiss, it would erase the event itself.

"Damn it, Weasel." Though he had been exasperated, the derogatory shortening of her family name had none of the hatred with which it was normally imbued. Instead, it had been said with a hint of wonder, as if he had been having a very hard time believing that that could be her name. "Why in the bloody hell can't I get you out of my soddin' brain?"

For the rest of her life, Ginevera Molly Weasley would never be able to say what had possessed her to ask the question, but, in that moment, she had felt that she would never be able to breathe again if she didn't. "Is it that bad having me in your head?"

His head had shaken reluctantly, as if controlled not by Draco but by an outside source.

"Do you want me out of your head?" she'd asked him next.

"Merlin, no." He had gasped in surprise at the fact that the words had come out of his mouth, and at the fact that he had meant them. He had backed into the wall then, as if the distance from her would help him regain his Slytherin aptitude for deception and secrecy, and keep him from telling her anything else.

Something had driven Ginny to step forward, something in her having told her to reduce the distance between them.

"Well, why would you never see me again?"

"I can't answer that question, Weaslette." His words were strained, as if he had had to force them out. And Weaslette had come out sounding like an affectionate nickname rather than the venomous insult that Draco had always used it as.

The redhead had taken a step closer to him, and then another, the distance between them being diminished almost completely by her actions. "Will you really never see me again?"

He had looked into her eyes and had found himself unable to lie to her. "Probably not . . . Ginevra."

She hadn't even known that he knew her full first name, and it was the fact that he did, and the warmth that had swept through her at the sound of her name on his lips that had fueled her next actions.

"I guess it won't matter what I do to you then, right?" Before he had had a chance to respond, his arms had been full of warm, wonderful redhead, and his lips had been covered by hers. He had reacted instinctively, his arms coming up around her back, pulling her closer. His hands had cradled he head, turning it to deepen the kiss. Her own hands were not idle, one of them had clutched the back of his robes, the other had drifted to the hair at the nape of his neck. At the feel of her nails softly scratching at his skin, he had pulled her even closer still.

The sensation of their bodies pressed so closely together had caused Ginny's lips to part to issue a surprised gasp, and Draco had taken the opportunity to slip his tongue inside to explore the warm confines of her mouth.

The velvet caress of Draco's tongue had elicited a moan of pleasure from the back of her throat, and one of his hands had fisted in her hair at the sound.

His other arm had dropped to wrap around her waist, trying to pull her closer still, but their school robes made that impossible, and Draco had grunted in frustration, and had started to gather the material of Ginny's robe in his hand.

The kiss was unlike anything that Ginny had ever felt before. It had never been like this with Michael, with Dean. Fireworks were exploding behind her closed eyelids, she was tingling all the way to her toes, and the touch of his tongue on the roof of her mouth was sending warm waves spilling down her spine like hot fudge pouring over ice cream.

It was spectacular, more magical than any spell she'd ever performed with her wand, and everything those muggle romance novels Hermione read in secret had reported a kiss should be. Still, it wasn't enough. Ginny wanted more.

With this thought in mind, Ginny had maneuvered her own tongue to enter Draco's mouth and explore the sweetness within.

It was the first tentative caress of velvet smoothness in his mouth that had snapped Draco back to his senses.

He had grabbed her and forcibly pushed her away, holding her out at arms length, both of their breathing harsh and ragged.

Neither of them had spoken, both teens just standing in the hall, staring intently into each other's eyes.

Draco's had gone a warm liquid silver, a colour the complete opposite of the cool steel grey they usually were.

Hers were a rich chocolate brown, and filled with something Draco had never thought to see directed at him from her. Wonder, longing, and just the tiniest hint of desire.

The pair had stood there, breathing heavily into the complete silence of the corridor.

"I . . . Gin. . . I." Draco had made several attempts to speak, staring at her flushed face and sparkling eyes, before he had taken two steps backwards, and then had simply turned and fled from her.

Ginny had stood there for a few more moments, holding her trembling fingers to her kiss swollen lips, before turning and slowly walking towards Gryffindor tower, completely forgetting about the hunger that had been leading her to the kitchens. She had walked all the way to her room in a complete daze, and it had only been pure luck that had kept her from running into anyone on the way there.

And Draco Malfoy, for the first time in his life to Ginny's knowledge, had been absolutely true to his word, and had never seen her again.

Until today.

* * *

"Ginny?" Her name was said rather loudly, and accompanied by a shake of her shoulder.

Ginny snapped back to reality with a rather harsh jolt to realize that Hermione was now sitting quite close to her, with a hand on her shoulder. "Ginny, are you okay?" From the worry in her voice, Ginny could tell that it hadn't been the first time that the older girl had spoken to her while she had been lost in her reverie. Ginny nodded absently in response to the question, not looking at Hermione because her gaze was still fixed on the boy sitting almost opposite of her.

It wasn't until Hermione had brought her back to the present that Ginny had even noticed that her eyes were locked firmly on the profile of Draco Malfoy.

"Are you sure that you're okay? You seemed to be very lost in thought. Something on your mind?"

Whether it was Hermione's repeated question or the weight of Ginny's stare, Draco turned away from the window he had been so resolutely staring out of and lowered his glasses low enough so that Ginny could see his eyes. The flash of silver in them told her that Draco had a pretty good idea of where it was that her mind had wandered.

"Yeah, Weaslette, someone on your mind?" He raised his eyebrow at her in question before pushing his sunglasses up to their previous position on his face.

Ginny blushed profusely at his implication, but thankfully Hermione hadn't noticed his change in the phrasing of the question. The other girl just examined Ginny's now flushed face. No one else in the car had even seemed to notice Draco speaking, being occupied with their own conversations.

Ginny turned her back on Draco to give her full attention to Hermione. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I must have been wrapped up in my thoughts."

"Yes, Mr. Wyndam–Pryce certainly had a lot to tell us about slayers and vampires. I can see how you'd be caught up in thoughts about the things he said." Ginny caught a snort of derision coming from Draco's side of the car, but when she shot a glare at him, he was once again staring out of the window. Only this time something had caught his attention on the other side of the glass.

Hermione simply continued as if she hadn't noticed the lapse of attention from Ginny. "It was very enlightening, but I'm confused as to why he felt the need to tell us all of the things that he did. I understand the relevance of the information on vampires, as it relates to Angel, but I still don't understand why he imparted all of the knowledge on vampire slayers." Hermione shot a glance at Wesley, but the Englishman was still engrossed in the whispered conversation that he was having with Dawn and Gunn. Ginny only had a quick moment to wonder what it was that the teenage girl had to talk about at that length with the two older men before Hermione continued to speak. "I can only assume that the story of the slayer has something to do with the people that we will be staying with."

"The people protecting us, you mean," Ginny whispered harshly at Hermione, not wanting to attract anyone's attention.

"Fine. Protecting us. Either way, Dumbledore told us that these people weren't exactly muggles, right? They have a working relationship with a vampire, and they obviously know about magic, and witches and wizards. Maybe they have something to do with the slayer, as well. Or maybe . . . " Hermione's speculation was interrupted when the car slowed to a stop and the driver got out to circle the limo and open the door for them.

"Not to worry, Granger," Draco told Hermione, as he climbed out of the car, motioning for the girls to do the same. "All of your questions are about to be answered."

When the girls stepped out onto the sidewalk, they saw that they had arrived at a many storied building, lights aflame in the various windows that were set in the different wings. Draco waved a hand at the imposing building. "Welcome to the Hyperion Hotel, home of Champion Industries." He started towards the front door with a stride that Ginny had never before seen from him. He looked calm, relaxed. He looked comfortable. It hit her, watching him walk, what the difference in Draco was.

He looked as if he had come home.

"F.Y.I., Granger," Draco tossed over his shoulder as he pulled on the door handle. "The girls who live here tend to call the place Slayer Central."


	18. Chapter 17

A/N: Thanks for those of you still reading this!!

Special thanks go out to my beta RyianaT. I'm very glad that she's still sticking with me, now that she's all busy with a Harry Potter and the Chains of the Soul. If you like HP crossovers, go and read it. The link can be found in my favourites list. It's so much better than my story! (but don't abandon me for her, k? wink)

**Chapter 17**

When they stepped through the door to the Hyperion Hotel, the group was immediately surrounded by the noise and chaos. Such things had become the normal mode of operations at Champion Industries, and even more so after business hours when the girls that comprised the aptly named Slayer Central portion of the place were given free reign of the hotel. Not that Champion Industries ever closed or would ever turn away the business of someone who really needed them, but after five the atmosphere on the first floor that housed the business relaxed quite a bit, and became the common meeting place of the teenaged girls that lived at the hotel.

At the moment, there were several girls at the reception counter, surrounding opened pizza boxes and an assortment of open snack bags, something that led Draco to believe that Xander had been put in charge of dinner. Another couple of girls were seated at the reception computer, the tapping of keys indicating that they were probably chatting away to someone in one of their hometowns.

A third small gaggle of girls were clustered on and around the circular couch that still occupied the lobby floor. Clothes, schoolbooks and magazines were strewn haphazardly around them. They looked rather like a Scooby research party, and it seemed that they were approaching the first day of school tomorrow like a battle. At least, that's what Draco supposed that they were doing, considering that both Cassidy and Vi were part of the group, and they were two of the most excited to be returning to public school. Actually, all the girls in that spot were part of the "Harry Potter Protection team," as someone had annoyingly named it. They were the group of slayers willing to attend the high school where Robin Wood was principal with the British teens rather than being tutored to take the G.E.D. by Willow and Giles as most of the others had decided to do. When given the choice, some of the girls had wanted the experience and normalcy of high school. Cassidy had been especially vehement, even declaring her intention of trying out for the cheerleading squad. She intended to do high school "the full on Buffy Summers way."

The girls who were going to school with them would be the ones in charge of watching the backs of the wonderful Harry Potter and friends, making sure that they didn't get into any trouble while hiding in plain sight. So the boy wonder had a bunch of bodyguards who appeared to be nothing more than teenage girls. Robin had even arranged everyone's schedule so that each of the Gryffindor four would have at least one slayer, or failing that, Dawn or Draco, in every class that they were in. The Hogwarts students were assured this way to never be alone.

The girls in question seemed to be checking out hairstyles in the magazines, as Draco could hear Vi bemoaning, and not for the first time that summer, the fact that the California sun had bleached some of her hair, making the red color stand out more than ever.

"I mean, it's just so vibrant! All of these magazines say that dark hair color is in this fall."

"I don't know about the fashion prats Vi, but I've always rather fancied red hair."

The activity in the room seemed to nearly stop as the girls all took notice of the group, the last of whom was letting the door swing shut behind them. Vi dropped the magazine to the couch beside her and ran a hand through the subject of the current conversation while rising to her feet. "You're just biased to red headed girls because of Willow. . . "Now that she was fully standing Vi could see the young redhead that had been blocked from her sight by Draco, as the girl was in far closer proximity to him then she would have ever been at school, baring that one incident. As Vi trailed off, the other girls in the room also took notice of the girl who stood near Draco, and also noticed as Dawn shook her head at Vi's statement and motioned to the newly arrived redhead with a small nodding motion. ". . . or not," Vi finished. "Well ladies, it looks like we might have just uncovered the mystery of why our little Dragon doesn't date, doesn't it?"

His eyes narrowed in a menacing way that was mistaken by the Hogwarts students for the patented Malfoy glare. But the lip curl that accompanied the glare was entirely someone else, someone most of the girls in the lobby had known well, someone who had given his life for theirs. At least his unlife, at any rate.

Vi put up her hands in surrender. "Okay, shutting up now, Spike-a-like. I'll just go let Buffy and the others know that you guys are back."

"I'll do it," said a girl with brown hair tied back in a tight bun. She was sprawled all over the floor flipping through one of the many magazines. She let it drop to the floor, and rolled from her stomach to her back. Her arms curled back and her hands dropped to lie flat on the floor, her legs kicking up towards her head. Before the Gryffindors could blink, the girl was standing, having used her arms and shoulders to launch herself to her feet.

"Show off," Draco muttered at her, and she turned to fully face him, allowing her next move to really only be seen by he and Ginny, who was still standing far closer to him then she would have ever normally been found. The redheaded Gryffindor drew in her breath sharply when the other girl proceeded to stick out her tongue at Draco in retaliation for his comment. With that action, Ginny expected Draco to say something even worse, maybe even hex the girl. What he did surprised Ginny more than any hex he could have thought up, though. Because Draco Malfoy laughed, and not for the first time that day. It was, once again, not a cruel, sinister laugh, but a laugh such as the ones that he had shared with Dawn.

Ginny had tried to convince herself that Draco's behavior with Dawn was an anomaly, that there was simply one person in the world that he didn't act his typical Slytherin self with. Not that he had been changing, maybe since before he left Hogwarts, but that he had simply made his first true friend, one with more than a thimble-full of brains. After all, he hadn't really acted any differently towards any of the Gryffindors.

But it seemed that maybe it was only them that he hadn't changed with. He had laughed at this brazen girl who stood in front of them, making Ginny realize that he was truly a different person with everyone but them. The thought brought a flash of something that, had Ginny been thinking about anyone other than Draco Malfoy, she would have called jealousy. But she refused to believe that she was feeling that emotion in relation to her brother's sworn enemy. Besides, she really didn't care if he was friendly with everyone but the Gryffindors. Gryffindors and Slytherins weren't meant to get along anyways.

In addition, given the fact that they had always retaliated to anything Malfoy had done to them, including the bat bogey hex that she had hit him with in his fifth year, was it really any surprise that he continued to be unfriendly towards them, even when it seemed, given his behavior towards everyone else, that he had had a personality transplant? But it felt different, knowing that Draco wasn't cold and rude to them because that's the way he was with everyone, that it was in his nature, but because that's the way he was with them. Worse than that feeling was the reason Ginny was upset about it. She absolutely refused to dwell on those feelings in relation to Draco Malfoy, so she returned her attention to the exchange between Draco and the other girl.

"Mature, Cassidy. Very mature. Can you not find a better retaliation then to taunt me with an insult generally reserved for toddlers?"

The brunette looked over to Ginny, allowing the redhead to see the mischief glittering in her unusual blue-grey eyes. "Well, I suppose I could mock your apparent obsession with redheaded w. . . "

Draco interrupted her before she could finish, making Ginny even more curious about why these girls seemed to be teasing him about redheads. Had he told them what had occurred between them before he left Hogwarts? "Weren't you going to tell Willow and Buffy that we are back?" Draco's tone prompted Ginny to look over at him, and she was surprised to see what looked to be a blush creeping up his neck and over his cheeks. Malfoy blushing? Was it even possible? Who was this person living in Draco Malfoy's body?

"Willow's still out of town, remember? One would think that you, of all people, would know Willow's whereabouts." His eyes began to narrow again while his blush seemed to darken. "Okay, okay, I'll go tell them you're here," Cassidy told him in surrender, turning away and disappearing fast enough to leave Ginny wondering how it was that the girl seemed to move faster than the blink of an eye.

At Cassidy's departure, Dawn moved to the front of the group of newcomers, where she shuffled nervously from foot to foot and looked hesitantly around at the numerous people filling the lobby, and up at the stairs to see even more girls coming to join them.

Dawn's nervous perusal of the girls surrounding them brought something to Hermione's attention. The room was indeed full of girls, but only girls. Even the group now descending the stairs to join them was comprised entirely of girls. Why was there such a large group of teenagers in this hotel that seemed closed to the public? And why were none of them teenage boys? Did it have something to do with the name Draco had used, Slayer Central? It must. But why so many of them? After all, Mister Wyndam-Pryce had said that the slayer was the one girl in all the world, and these were girls. But then again, he had said one girl, indicating that the Slayer was alone in her calling. That much Hermione had read about before. So they couldn't all be slayers. At best, one of them was. That led Hermione to wonder why it was that there were all these girls in the place that they had been sent to for protection. What in the world could a group of teenaged muggle girls do to protect them that the fully trained Order of the Phoenix could not?

The anxious clearing of Dawn's throat broke into Hermione's musings. "Well, um . . . I guess maybe I should introduce everyone to each other? . . ." she trailed off as if she didn't know how to proceed. A look of complete relief passed over her face as a new voice rang out into the lobby from the now open office door behind the counter.

"It's cool, little D. B and the G-man were going to do the meet and greet after the show and tell. It can wait till then." The voice became clearer as its owner emerged from behind the group of girls clustered around the counter.

Faith was dressed, Draco noticed, in her favorite patrol outfit, twirling a stake in one hand, and he turned to take in the Gryffindor boys' reaction to the dark slayer.

Ron and Harry's mouths had both dropped open as soon as they had gotten a good look at the girl, no woman, who had just entered the room. She was wearing a pair of black leather pants that clung to her like they were a second skin. A black, skintight halter left little to the imagination, contouring her assets in a way that caused the teenage boys to nearly drool. Her hair was flowing freely around her head, and the red lipstick she was wearing let Draco know that she had dressed for the shock value. She looked like walking sex, and she knew it. She had done it to play with the minds of the boys they had been expecting, knowing the reaction that she would get. Faith winked at Draco and it filled him with warmth to know that, even if Harry and Ron never realized it, Faith had done it to get a little payback for Draco. It was so rare that someone had ever done something to show that they were in his corner, and she had done this knowing he would relish their reaction after being forced to spend time with the boys he disliked so very much. He silently snickered to himself, loving that someone was on his side because of who he was, and not because of his family name. And Faith was so devious about being on his side. She was so Slytherin sometimes.

Buffy was next out of the office. She took in Faith, who had just thrown her hair behind her shoulder in a gesture designed to draw even more attention to herself, and then turned her gaze to the teenaged boys gaping at the brunette. The spectacle caused the blonde to roll her eyes.

"Oh, enough. Weren't you taking the girls on patrol?" Buffy stood with her hands planted on her hips, looking both amused and annoyed at Faith's antics.

"All right, all right. Spoil my fun." It was as if Faith had turned off a switch on her sultriness and instantly became the leader Draco knew her to be. "Okay, ladies. Anyone on the schedule for tonight, saddle up. It ain't going to get any darker out there."

There was a flurry of movement as the girls going out on patrol gathered their weapons from the cabinet on one side of the room, though they were too close to the storage unit for someone who didn't already know what they were doing to see that they were arming themselves. While the girls prepared for the evening, Faith approached the group that was still gathered around the entryway, stopping in front of Dawn and Draco, who had moved to stand together.

"So, I hear the two of you managed to take out three vamps."

"That they did, Faith. And now that they are safely delivered to you and Miss Summers, Gunn and I shall take our leave.

Wesley had become strangely formal while speaking to the dark haired woman, making the Gryffindors wonder at the tension that seemed to suddenly fill him. The Englishman turned to leave, but Faith hurried to grab his arm before he could reach the door. At the contact, the tension in the air flared, but she didn't drop his arm, as many others would have done. Instead, she used the contact to turn him towards her.

"Can you stay for a few minutes, Wesley?" He made as if he was still going to leave, but the next word out of her mouth was a shock to him, if the look on his face was anything to go by, and stopped him in his tracks. "Please?"

The tension receded at her request, but it didn't disappear entirely. "What for, Faith?"

When it seemed that he was going to stay to at least hear her out, Faith released the grip that she had had on his arm. "Watcher senior wants to talk to you." She fidgeted a bit, dropped her gaze to her boots, as if searching for her next words. "Well, I'm actually making him talk to you. He didn't think you'd go for it, but I told him that I wanted him to ask. I've wanted him to ask nearly since we got here, actually. I kind of need him to, especially after last spring. I couldn't think of anyone else that I'd want to do it . . . "

Wesley put a finger under her chin and tilted her face so that she was looking into his eyes. It was clear from his expression, to everyone in the room, that he knew what it was that she was trying to ask him, even if they did not.

"Yes, Faith," he simply said.

"Yes you'll talk to him?" she asked, biting her bottom lip, which, Draco noted amusedly, caused both Harry and Ron to sharply draw in a breath. What the Slytherin failed to notice was that the movement had caused the same reaction in Wesley.

"Yes to speaking with Giles, and yes to the job offer, as well. If we can arrange it so that I can continue to work with Angel and the others as well as working with you, that is. It is you that I will be working with?" The question came out with a small note of hope in his voice.

Faith smiled at him, and looked as if, had they been alone, Draco thought, she might have hugged him. But she was the tough slayer, and things such as hugging were beneath her. She settled instead for an enthusiastic nod.

"Young Mr. Summers tells me that it was your training that was mostly responsible for his saving young Miss Weasley's life."

The dark slayer turned suddenly to the boy in question, both surprise and pride evident in her eyes. The look caused a feeling of warmth to once again flood through Draco.

"Oh, really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Use what you've got, take them by surprise, all that stuff. Ginevra did her bit, though." The redhead blushed at the use of her full name.

Ron's eyes widened in surprise, both at Draco not taking all the credit, and at the fact that he didn't call Ginny weasel of some other insulting variation of their family name. Perhaps even more surprising was the fact that Malfoy knew her given name.

Ginny spoke up then. "It was his quick thinking that did it. I just followed his instructions."

Draco shifted uncomfortably at the praise, and Faith's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, I get it. Way to go junior!" She punched him playfully on the arm, but it still caused the boy to wince. "Well, enough of this mushy crap." She turned her attention to the girls grouped at the cabinet across the lobby. "C'mon ramblers, let's get ramblin'."

At her last words, the group of girls surged around the people still standing at the doors of the hotel and disappeared out into the dark L.A. night, with Faith in the lead. When the echo of the door closing behind them finally faded, Buffy took that as her cue to approach the teenagers.

"Well, now that the drama of Faith has left the building," she stopped in front of them, smiling brightly. "Hi, I'm Buffy Summers, Dawn's older sister. "She glanced at Dawn, who made a motion at Wes and nodded at Buffy to continue. "And a Vampire Slayer. Welcome to Champion Industries."

Three of the teens muttered a hello, but something she had said struck Hermione as wrong enough to prompt her to ask a question. "Don't you mean, _the_ Slayer Miss Summers?"

"No, I certainly meant a Slayer, Hermione. It is Hermione, right?"

The girl nodded in response, and looked as if she was going to pursue the subject further, but Vi beat her to it.

"She's right, Buffy. I'm_ a_ Slayer, Cassidy's_ a_ Slayer, Rhona, Amanda, Diana, all the rest can call themselves _a _Slayer, but you? You're _the_ Slayer. Well, you and Faith, I guess. But especially you."

"But that's not possible! You can't _all_ be Slayers." Hermione looked perplexed, and there was nothing she disliked more then when people went against something she had read in a book. "There can be only one Slayer at a time, like the books all say, like Mr. Wyndam-Pryce told us."

Buffy looked at Wesley, laughter in her eyes. "So, you didn't get to the part of the story where the rules changed, huh?"

He shrugged dismissively. "I thought it was your tale to tell."

"I guess you're right. Giles is waiting for you in the office. Tell him we'll be in the library when he's ready to join us.

He looked at Gunn who nodded at him to go. "Thank you, I will," he told her as he approached the office, closing the door behind him as he entered.

Buffy could tell that Hermione was going to speak again, and interrupted the girl before she could. "Don't worry, Hermione, I'll explain it eventually. But it's the end of a very long story, and other things need to be explained first. It's all part of the how and why of you guys being here. But first things first. . . "Buffy stepped over to Dawn and Draco and proceeded to cuff them both on the back of the head. "I can't believe you guys took Angel's car! Especially when I told you to take the van. And I told you that not just as your sister, but as your boss." The teens both cringed, bracing themselves for another lecture. "But since I know that you already had to listen to Angel gripe about it, I guess I'll forget about the speech." The two teens let out a relieved sigh. "For tonight. But it's not the last you're going to hear about it, got it?" They both nodded reluctantly.

Buffy then leaned around Draco so that she could catch Harry's eye. "And you, Mister Potter. You and I are going to have words about wand waving in public." The girls who were still scattered around the lobby snickered at Buffy's choice of words, and Harry blushed crimson.

"Geez, perverts much?! I meant his magic wand." There was more laughter at this comment, and even Buffy blushed as she realized that her second statement didn't sound any better than the first. But she laughed as well. "Oh, I give up!"

She turned to her sister again, and her laughter ceased abruptly. The next thing anyone knew, Dawn was engulfed in a bone crushing hug from her sister. "I don't know what I would have done if you had been hurt."

Dawn rolled her eyes, yet hugged her sister back. "Buffy, you know, it's not like it was my first dusting, ok?"

"But there were three of them! You could have been hurt." The blonde slayer proceeded to hug her sister even tighter after that, causing Dawn to let out a high pitched squeak in protest.

"Buffy, enough. Oxygen, becoming an issue."

"Oh, sorry." Buffy let go of her sister, and Dawn breathed in relief. The petite blonde then turned her attention to Draco, and both Ron and Harry snickered. The boys had been disappointed that they had been deprived the amusement of seeing Draco getting berated by Angel about the car, but it seemed as though they would now get to see Draco being lectured on endangering this woman's sister, if the look of trepidation on Draco's face was anything to go by.

But they had misinterpreted the look on the other boy's face, and found that they would once again miss out on the joy of hearing the Slytherin getting in trouble. Moreover, they were shocked to see Buffy fling her arms around their enemy much as she had done to her sister, and pull the younger yet taller boy close to her in another bruising embrace.

Ron, though, took almost as much delight in Draco's embarrassed flush as he awkwardly patted the woman on the back in an attempt to reassure her that all was well. Ron knew how embarrassing it felt to be the recipient of such motherly affection in front of schoolmates, especially ones that were enemies. To Ron, the hug was almost as good as the lecture would have been.

For his part, though, Harry felt only great annoyance and a stab of jealousy that his enemy had someone who seemed to truly care about his bodily well being, as it was obvious Buffy did with her next words.

"And you!! What the hell were you thinking, getting into it with three vamps who were looking to take on Angelus? You know the history there. If they had a beef with Angelus, chances were that they had one with him too. And it doesn't matter how much you changed your hair, you still look enough like him to . . ."

"Buffy," Draco interrupted her rant to pull back a bit and look into her face. "I'm alive, you know."

"And lucky you are, too, because if you had gotten your idiot self killed," she glared at him in what she intended to be a harsh manner, but her relief was evident in her eyes, "I would have had to get Willow to bring your dead butt back to life so I could kill you again myself!"

Draco snorted in amusement at her words, but the other Hogwarts students were simply confused by the statement. Confused, and curious as to who this Willow was that everyone kept speaking about.

"I meant that I have a pulse. He didn't. I'm sure that even the intellectually challenged vampires that those three were would have been able to note the difference."

Buffy smacked his arm, and he winced, as he had when Faith had hit him, as if the much smaller woman had actually hurt him.

"Shut up smart ass. It was still a reckless thing to do."

Draco winced then, as if what he was about to say to the woman would cost him in some way. "I had to do it, Buffy. He was going to hurt the girl." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath to steady himself. "No hurting the girl." He snuck a look at Ginny, then, and Buffy caught the direction of his gaze. "I couldn't let him hurt Ginny."

Again, Malfoy had used her first name, but before Ron could fully contemplate what it meant that Draco was not tormenting his sister, Buffy had launched herself at Draco in a hug so fierce, if he had not been significantly taller than the blonde woman, would have knocked him off of his feet.

"You really are just like him, you know? He'd be so very proud of you for tonight. He'd take all the credit, of course, but he'd be annoyingly proud."

"Yeah, especially for the way he talked back to Angel," Dawn told her sister.

"Talked back to Angel? After taking his car for a joyride? Oh yeah, you're Spike's boy, one hundred percent." Though it didn't seem possible, Buffy hugged Draco even tighter, and Ginny caught sight of the look on his face. She's expected him to be deeply embarrassed by such a public display of what was obviously affection, especially since it was occurring in the presence of people he considered to be his enemies. But he instead looked peaceful and content, as if he was really basking in the attention. Ginny realized then that Draco Malfoy had probably been as devoid of motherly affection as Harry had been, especially if you considered how cold Narcissa Malfoy always appeared. The Slytherin had the same look of unfamiliarity and yet pleasure in what was occurring that Harry always had on his face when Ginny's mother would hug him.

Buffy pulled back from Draco's arms then. Nobody in the room but the four Gryffindors was surprised to see the tears that silently ran over the slayer's cheeks. They had, after all, been talking about Spike. It was a subject that, since the destruction of Sunnydale, hardly ever failed to make Buffy cry. "J.J, just . . ." Buffy hesitated, laying a hand on his cheek. "Be careful out there, ok? I really don't think I could live through it if I lost you too."

"Hey now, Slayer. None of that." He reached up and brushed the tears from her cheeks, and Ginny trembled, remembering how it felt to have Draco's hands be that gentle on her own skin. "Enough tears, luv. You have work to do, and lectures to deliver, no?"

She snickered in response, "Are you looking for another lecture, J.J.?"

"You said you weren't going to give us one. I was looking forward to Scarhead's" He had told Dawn that he would try to be nicer to the others, but he felt the need to lash out after his rivals had seen such an emotional scene between him and his surrogate big sister. "We might as well get on with it, no?"

"Well, actually, shift change. You and Dawnie are done for tonight. Giles told me that he talked to Diana, and he thought that she would be in need of some friends. You should go talk to her before I take these guys up to Witch Wing. Giles wants everything out in the open tonight, before you guys all start school in the morning."

Draco's forehead creased in worry, once again making the four Gryffindors wonder at the apparent change in the Slytherin. "Do you know where she went after they talked?"

"Down to the training room, is my guess."

Draco turned and headed in that direction, not even acknowledging the four schoolmates that he left behind. Dawn's eyes followed his progress and then turned to her sister expectantly. "Should I go too?"

"Go on. I think she's going to need the support of all of her friends." Buffy scanned the room and caught the eye of the brunette girl that had been taunting Draco earlier. "You too, Cassidy."

Both girls left the room to follow Draco, leaving the four Gryffindors alone with the woman they had been sent to for protection.

"Welcome to L.A.," she greeted them again. "Follow me to the library, guys. We have a lot of things to talk about." She turned to lead them out of the room, and the four teens stepped forward to follow her. It seemed that they were finally going to get some answers.


	19. Chapter 18

A/N Hello all! I hope that people are still reading this. I feel terrible for not updating, but I've been super busy. We moved at the beginning of the month, and there are so many problems with the new place that we are moving again at the end of the month. There's been the death of an extremely close family friend, and on top of it all, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo.

Sorry this update took so long.

Chapter Eighteen

Lucius Malfoy may have always taught his son that muggles were far beneath pureblood wizards, but that didn't mean that Lucius himself found them completely without their uses.

The muggle world, for example, was great for hiding from the wizarding authorities. This was especially true when one had money, had the means to access it, exchanging it for muggle funds in the process, and could do all of it without alerting the Ministry of Magic to his whereabouts. Which was, at the moment, a very luxurious hotel in muggle London. It was almost as good as staying at Malfoy Manor itself, as the hotel staff would work themselves as hard as a house elf to do your bidding, just as long as they were well compensated.

And since the Malfoy family had always had money, the vast amount of which had been hidden far beyond the reach of the Ministry's attempt to seize all of the Malfoy assets, Lucius was being treated like royalty. As such, it was a rare occasion that he had to use any magic, allowing him to stay well out of sight of the Aurors. He also enjoyed living in the luxury that the muggle world was currently providing him. He may have been one of Voldemort's top ranking Death Eaters, but that didn't mean that Lucius agreed with every single thing that the Dark Lord did. After all, their leader tended to hide out in the most disreputable and predictable of places. Places such as the Forbidden Forrest, dark damp caves, graveyards, and his muggle father's house.

Lucius knew that he had to hide while he was a wanted man, but that didn't mean that he couldn't hide in luxury. Of course, he'd never suggest to Voldemort that the Dark Lord himself hide in muggle London. After all, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named wanted to distance himself from anything and everything muggle, lest people discover the truth of his heritage. Lucius was one of the select few who knew that Voldemort was a half-blood just like those that he proclaimed needed to be annihilated from the face of the earth.

So with Voldemort's revulsion for all things muggle, Lucius still had to meet with his 'master' at his stereotypical villain hideout, but he didn't have to conduct all of his business in such a place. In fact, except for when he was expressly called to Voldemort's side, his presence was no longer required at any Death Eater gatherings. After all, he was a wanted man. It would be too much of a risk to the others if he was followed to a meeting.

But that's not to say that Lucius wasn't still working for the Dark Lord. Lucius was working as hard as or harder than any other Death Eater. Currently, he was working on Voldemort's latest scheme to amass more followers. Or to gather allies, at the very least.

And working on was rather an understatement. Lucius Malfoy considered himself to be the mastermind behind the entire idea. The Dark Lord had begun making alliances with the giants, the goblins, the dementors, and any other creature who populated the wizarding world and shared his dislike of muggles, half-bloods, and their sympathizers. But it had not occurred to the Dark Lord that not all of the enemies of the light resided in the wizarding world. There were evil creatures in the muggle world as well. Evil things that wouldn't mind the mass genocide of the humans that comprised the muggle world. In fact, a good many of them had delusions of world domination themselves.

When Lucius had genuflected in front of the Dark Lord and had proposed the idea of teaming up with other supernatural creatures, the ones that were the stuff of muggle nightmares, the wizard had worried for a moment that he had gravely insulted Voldemort, and that he would pay for it with his life. But the moment after that, the Dark Lord had laughed. A laugh that had been cruel, and malicious, and unequivocally evil.

Why not team up with them, he had asked? After all, the Dark Lord would team up with them, and promise them whatever it would take for them to align themselves with the Death Eaters. With their help, he would no doubt conquer the wizarding world. When he had done that, he didn't have to keep his words. He was the Dark Lord, after all. If they turned against him for breaking promises, he would simply end them where they stood. They would be no match for him.

On the other hand, they would be more than able to take out Voldemort's enemies. Dumbledore would not be expecting the world's deadliest and most feared wizard to use creatures that had no real magic in them to do his bidding. And Harry James Potter would be an easy conquest for these types of creatures indeed. The lucky little brat would never even see them coming.

As the one who had brought Voldemort the idea, Lucius Malfoy had been put in charge of the project. Given his position, he had deemed himself the only one powerful enough to bring in the strongest and most evil of these creatures. The other Death Eaters that would be working for him would be sent out to recruit the lesser demons, the newer vampires, and those creatures that had yet to make a name for themselves. While Lucius, on the other hand, would be recruiting the elite, the cream of the crop. The creatures that made others of their own kind flee in terror.

Lucius was going to be making contact with the greats. With Dracula, D'Hoffryn, Kakistos, Balthazoar, Kraven, and with the vampires of the Order of Aurelius most of all. These vampires that had been of special interest to Voldemort when he had heard of their deeds, the vampires who were called the Scourge of Europe.

This was the reason Lucius Malfoy was now pacing in front of the weak willed Peter Pettigrew who was kneeling on the floor of Malfoy's very expensive hotel suite. The other man was sniveling as if his life were in jeopardy. As it was in Malfoy's hands now, that was a distinct possibility.

Peter had been given to Malfoy so that he could do the blonde wizard's bidding, a sign of Voldemort's pleasure with Lucius. That, and the fact that the ministry was looking for him as hard as they were looking for Malfoy himself. It seemed that more of the Ministry believed Sirius' accounting of the events surrounding the Potters' deaths than Malfoy had thought. With Black's death, they were more than intent on finding Pettigrew and bringing him in, and thus establishing Black's innocence.

So, for the time being, Pettigrew was also in hiding, and while he was, he was at Malfoy's beck and call. At the moment, it seemed as if the sniveling rat might have finally been of some use.

"Have you finally come across some news on the 'Scourge of Europe' Pettigrew? It would be wonderful to be able to tell our Lord that we have come to an agreement, and have brought the most feared vampires in history on our side. The fact that one of them is also rumored to have the gift of sight can only be an added bonus."

At Lucius's words, Pettigrew started sweating profusely, worry for his life darkening his eyes. "Not exactly, Master Malfoy."

The tone in the blonde man's voice could have nearly frozen hell itself. "What do you mean, Pettigrew, by not exactly?"

"Well," Pettigrew started, bowing even lower towards the floor, as he knew that his next words would only anger Malfoy further. "I have no leads on the vampires themselves . . ." Pettigrew trailed as he saw the cold steel of Lucius's gaze.

Malfoy thrust his hand inside of the muggles suit jacket he had taken to wearing in order to blend in and withdrew his wand. He then pointed it at the lowly Death Eater groveling before him. Lucius knew that the Ministry would be watching for the magical signature of his wand. Hell, he was paying someone to keep a watch out for his own son's. But even knowing that, he was almost, _almost,_ angry enough at Pettigrew to say Azkaban be damned and curse Pettigrew to hell and back. He'd gotten out of the prison once, he could do it again. He was almost that infuriated, but not quite. Had Malfoy been saddled with Pettigrew as a punishment for the debacle at the Ministry that had landed him in Azkaban in the first place? Lucius was beginning to think so.

Pettigrew saw the wand and the blonde man who appeared ready to use it, and blanched further, if that was even possible. The animagus hurried to explain what else he had learned that day to Malfoy before he lost his life. "But Master, I did find someone who I am told can help us in our pursuit."

"Oh, really?" Malfoy arched a pale eyebrow in question. He laid his wand down but still within easy reach. "So, tell me, Pettigrew, of this person who will be able to succeed where you have so magnificently failed."

Peter cringed at the comment. "Not a solitary person, sir, but an organization that caters to this sort of thing."

Malfoy was still skeptical. "Who are these people?"

"It's a firm of barristers and solicitors. It is said that they specialize in the realm of the 'unnatural'. In the realm of magic."

Pettigrew's proclamation didn't make Lucius feel any more charitable towards the man. In fact, he was beginning to question the smarmy little man's sanity. "How are a bunch of men who deal with something as mundane, as muggle, as the law, supposed to locate the 'Scourge of Europe'?"

Pettigrew lowered his prone form so that his chin was actually touching the luxurious carpet as he looked up to speak, the gesture showing his subservience to the other man. "I have learned that this firm is far from typical, mundane or muggle. In fact, they cater nearly exclusively to clients such as ourselves. They do most of their business with magic users, demons, and even vampires. It is said that if the firm can't accomplish something, or if they can't find someone, then it simply cannot be done."

"And why, Pettigrew, would this firm look for these infamous vampires for us. It is possible if, as you say, the firm caters to the undead, the ones we seek could already be their clients. Why would they sell out their own clients to us?"

"Sir, it is also said that they will do anything for money. And, Lord Malfoy, your wealth is far beyond that of any mere muggle, and you can certainly pay the firm far more than any vampire could. Their loyalty I here tell is only to the person that pays them the highest sum."

Malfoy thought through Pettigrew's revelation for a moment. It seemed that they might be able to buy the loyalty of these people after all. And only Merlin would be able to help the firm if they betrayed him in the end.

The blonde returned his wand to his inner pocket, allowing Pettigrew to see the gesture. "Very well, Pettigrew. Make arrangements so that I may investigate the firm further."

"I have taken the liberty of scheduling a meeting for yourself with the senior partner of the London branch of this firm, if that meets with your approval, sire."

Malfoy was surprised that the man had shown some forethought and had taken the initiative. "And what, Pettigrew, pray tell, is the name of this illustrious firm?"

"It is called Wolfram and Hart, sir."

* * *

Lorne's search for Angel ended in exactly the place the green demon had expected it to end.

The vampire was seated in the lavishly furnished and well-equipped convalescence room of seer Cordelia Chase, holding her unresponsive hand in his as if it were a lifeline.

Angel looked even worse than Fred had warned the anagogic demon that he might. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was even paler than usual. Given the fact that Angel was a vampire, and nearly white at the best of times, Lorne thought that his color was a fairly good indication of his state of mind.

Lorne thought the other man looked as if – how had Willow put it – he had a case of cancer of the puppy. Fred had been right about the fact that Angel needed someone to talk to, though the host was now pondering, given the unwelcoming look on the vampire's face, why that person had to be him.

The empathy demon supposed that Fred had recruited him because it was rather difficult for someone to lie to Lorne. Though that may have been true, Lorne still didn't feel that he was the best person for the job. What insight could Lorne give Angel on the events that had just happened, and the ones that seemed now destined to happen? Then again, Lorne supposed, he would have to find a way to struggle through the conversation. Because the person who was truly best for the job wasn't available. She was lying silent in the very expensive hospital bed, with the very real possibility that she would never again be available for the type of conversation that Angel needed to have at the moment. Or any type of conversation at all, for that matter.

She still looked spectacular though, even asleep. Lorne smiled slightly at the thought that she would be very pleased with her cosmetic upkeep.

The Pylean cautiously approached Cordelia's bed so that she lay between he and Angel, and tried to look his friend in the eye. Angel didn't look up, but Lorne saw enough of his expression to know that Angel needed to talk, even if the vampire was reluctant to do so.

"Hey there, big guy," Lorne began, knowing that Angel had sensed him the second he stepped a toe into the room. If Angel had wanted to talk, surely he would have spoken by now. But then again, Angel never wanted to talk. He never was the one to speak first in these kinds of conversations. "Fred told me that little sunshine and blondie bear junior were here. I suppose that there was a good reason that I wasn't invited to the team pow-wow? I would have loved to see Dawnie."

"Dawnie?" Angel questioned as he finally looked up and acknowledged Lorne's presence.

"She comes to see the Princess every few days. Seems Cordelia was always nice to the girl back in Sunnydale."

Angel gave a half-hearted chuckle at the statement. "Cordelia was hoping to teach the girl to follow in her footsteps rather than Buffy's far inferior ones. Said the girl's unbelievable huge blue eyes showed some potential." The vampire dropped his and Cordelia's linked hands to the bed beside her, but didn't loosen his grip. "I think Cordy'd be proud of her." Angel dropped his gaze back to Cordelia then, and it was clear he wasn't intending on saying anything further.

"So, still waiting for the good reason I wasn't called in to meet the kids."

Angel breathed out an unneeded sigh, and dropped Cordelia's hand. It was clear that Lorne was going to pursue the conversation. The vampire got up from the chair to stand against the wall. He may have no choice in listening to whatever it was Lorne wanted to say, but he sure as hell wasn't going to do it from the submissive position that the chair put him in.

"Well?" Lorne prompted.

"They'd just seen three vamps get dusted, Lorne. I know that they intellectually know about demons, but they were jumpy enough that I didn't feel it was the right time for them to see one in the flesh."

The host found that he was barely insulted by the comment. After all, Angel did have a point. Knowing about demons, and actually seeing one were two very different things. "I get that, I suppose," the demon told Angel, trying to sound more affronted then he was. After all, he really was just looking for an opening to the subject he really wanted to discuss. Something had happened in Angel's office during his conversation with the teens that had upset him, that much was obvious. The trick was figuring out what that was. Somehow the Pylean didn't see Angel coming right out and saying it. Beating around the bush it was, then. "So, since I didn't get to see the kids, how is Dawn?"

"For all that Dawn tries to rebel against Buffy, they really are more alike then anyone seems to think. Dawn's great. She took out three vamps, and they didn't need a Slayer's help to do it."

"But she did have help, I hear. How is the little Dragon?"

"Reckless, annoying, stubborn . . ." at this point Angel started pacing, and Lorne quickly interrupted before the list of negative attributes turned into a diatribe.

"Well, stop with the compliments, Angelcakes. You just might go overboard."

The vampire abruptly stopped his pacing and turned back towards Lorne, glaring at him harshly. Lorne raised his hands in surrender and put on his most placating tone.

"Hey, just pointing out the fact that you don't exactly go easy on the kid, especially when you're biased because of whose son he is."

"I don't even know Lucius Malfoy," Angel pointed out as he flung himself back in his chair. Lorne, in turn, circled the bed and sat in the other visitor's chair.

"That's not who I mean, and you know it." Lorne paused, making sure Angle met his gaze before he continued. "That boy became Spike's son in every way but blood. I'm sure that if fixing that little problem wouldn't have meant condemning Draco to eternity without a soul, Spike would have taken care of that too. But being Spike's son doesn't make Draco Spike."

"I know that," Angel told Lorne, his tone churlish and childlike.

"Then why are you showing him the same animosity you show Spike?" Lorne let the question hang in the air for a minute. When it was clear that Angel wasn't going to answer, the host prodded him further. "What happened with the boy that sent you in here to brood?"

Again, silence permeated the room. The anagogic demon was considering just writing off the whole idea of getting Angel to talk about it when the vampire spoke.

"He blamed me, you know. For Spike's death. Told me I was chicken for coming back here and letting Spike sacrifice himself for the world. Said that Spike was a better champion then I was. And he sounded exactly like Spike when he did it."

It all became clear to Lorne then. Angel was focusing on the way in which Draco had spoken rather than the things he had said. Because if Angel had to think about the words themselves instead of the way they had conveyed, he would have to admit that he agreed with them. Because Lorne knew that Angel did indeed think the words were true, even though they were so far from true that it hurt.

"Angelcakes, you know that that's not how things happened." Lorne willed Angel to listen to him. Angel was bound to feel guilty about Spike's death, and he'd use Draco's words to do that, untrue though they might be.

"Isn't it?" Angel asked, pushing himself out of the chair to once again pace in agitation.

"Buffy sent you away, Angel. It was her choice who got to be the champion this time, not yours."

"It's not as if I fought her very hard when she picked Spike. I knew that it would probably cost him his life." Angel stopped and turned to look at Lorne. "I knew that he'd more than likely get killed, and I let him do it anyway. I could have stopped him."

Lorne rose from his own chair and approached Angel. "You could have, yes. But that doesn't mean that you should have. Yes, you are a Champion for the Powers That Be, but you aren't the only one. Spike may be a royal pain in the ass most of the time . . . "Angel raised an eyebrow at Lorne. "Okay_ all _of the time. But he'd earned the right to be Buffy's champion for once. He'd fought long and hard to earn that place in her life." Angel scoffed under his breath at that. "I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true. He's the one that was there for more than two years, every day, fighting side by side with her." Lorne caught Angel's eye. "Besides, you have commitments of your own to handle now." He nodded towards Cordelia on the bed. "And she asked you to be here, to hold the flood back, in case they failed. You have people here that depend on you. Your job is to keep them safe, not Sunnydale. Not anymore."

Angel shook his head and started to pace again. "Draco's just so angry at me, though. Maybe he's right. Spike's my family, whether I like it or not. I should have made sure that he'd be fine."

"There comes a time when you can't protect your children any longer, Angel, and that includes Spike. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a child is to let them go their own way." Lorne's statement took Angel aback, and he couldn't formulate an answer. The demon had hit far closer to home than he would ever know. After all, Angel was the only one who still suffered with the memory of his son Conner, who knew that he had given him up, that he had let him go his own way. He shook the memories away as Lorne continued. "Draco's in pain, and that bastard of a biological father of his never taught him how to express it, or how to deal with it. Of course he's lashing out at you. You're an easy target."

"But he has a point, Lorne. I really didn't try very hard to take Spike's place. I could have not given Buffy the amulet. I could have stopped Spike from using it."

"And, if you did? Angel, babe, did it ever occur to you that if you had been the one that got trapped in that amulet, the Senior Partners would have had a far more nefarious purpose for you than haunting the Wolfram and Hart building."

"You think that it was a trap for me?" Angel paused, contemplating Lorne's words. "Still, better me than Spike."

"No, not better you than Spike. I'm sure the plans they had for you using that amulet would have been catastrophic indeed. There is no telling what they would have done with you, once they had you in their hands."

Angel shrugged noncommittally at Lorne's words. The demon sighed at the action. "You know what I think those Gypsies cursed you with, Angel my friend?" The vampire's head snapped up to focus on Lorne at the tone in the demon's voice. "You weren't cursed with a soul, but with a guilt complex. You feel guilty for everything that ever goes wrong. Sure, you could have stopped Spike, but he didn't _want_ you to. That situation played out exactly the way that the Powers meant it to. And deep down, you know that. Hell, deep down, even Draco knows that. Your acceptance of any and all blame just makes you an easy damned target, especially given the boy's need to lash out at something concrete. Frankly, I find it far better that he takes after Spike in the way he deals with pain, rather than taking after you. He'd be silently brooding and looking to run off to a monastery. No one needs to live through that again."

"But . .. " Angel tried to interrupt, but Lorne wouldn't let him.

"But nothing. You are not to blame here. You did not cause Spike to die. Buffy knows it, I know it. Dawn knows it, and Draco does too, even if he says otherwise. Hell, even Spike, for all he's being a pain in the ass to you, isn't blaming you for the "pillar of fire". You need to accept that."

"Much as I hate to admit that you actually aren't to blame for something, Peaches, especially my premature and fairly painful death, your green friend here is right." Spike's voice could be heard as he drifted through the wall. "Great Poufter you may be, but no way was I giving up that bauble, or the chance to play hero, and you know it. Had to be the Champion for my slayer for once."

Angel went to interrupt him, and Spike knew that Angel was going to launch into another speech wherein he listed the numerous reasons that Spike should let Buffy know that he was back, incorporeal though he may have been. The ghost continued to speak so he wouldn't have to hear Angel's lecture again.

"The only one that blames you here is you." Angel raised an eyebrow at this. "Well maybe Draco. He's making it look that way, at any rate. But he just takes after me far too much, that's all. I taught him to blame you for everything." Spike's face lit up at the thought of Draco taking a strip out of Angel. At least, that was the way that Fred had told it. Spike had stayed far, far away from Angel's office during that meeting. He just couldn't take the risk of his kids seeing him, no matter how much he had wanted to see them. Spike forced his thoughts back to the present before he began to dwell on how much he missed them. But he couldn't afford to focus on himself here. He had to make sure that they were protected, especially if they were going to be out on their own fighting vampires. That was why he had come to see Angel. He usually only sought him out to piss him off, not to share comfort and wisdom.

If the kids were going to make it a regular occurrence to be out encountering gods knew what in the dark of the L.A. nights, then they were going to need to learn to protect themselves. And they needed to learn from the best. Sure, they were learning the best moves of a Slayer from Buffy, but they needed to be learning the best moves of an opponent as well. And, since Spike was currently without a solid body, and couldn't be the vampire to do it, he guessed that the kids would have to learn from the next best vampire. Much as Spike hated to admit it, the only person around that really fit that bill was Angel.

"You'd best be getting used to his attitude, Peaches. After all, if bit and junior are going to insist on being true Scooby Gang members, you're going to teach them how to do it right and proper."

"What?" Angel boomed in a voice that could be heard echoing through the entire floor they were currently occupying.

"You're going to teach them to fight. I would, of course, but me being without a body leaves me out of all contact sports, sparring being one of them. So, I am lowering my standards and allowing you to do it in my place."

"Allowing me?!"

"Oh, nice and loud on that one, Granddaddy. The next one might even wake up the cheerleader here ."

"Don't you dare talk about Cordelia."

Lorne decided, with Angel's growl, that it was a good time to take his leave. Lorne might not have been able to talk Angel out of his broody mood, but he sure wasn't brooding now. He was, from the sounds still coming from the room Lorne had vacated that could be heard all the way to the elevator, engaged in a rather passionate fight with Spike. Lorne wasn't sure that fighting was much better than brooding, but with Spike there badgering him, Angel wouldn't be able to spend another sleepless night sitting at Cordelia's side waiting for something that may never happen.

Lorne had to wonder about Spike's timing. Had he been listening through a wall the entire time? Had he purposely come in to start an argument? Lorne thought about that for a minute. Instigating the fight just to get Angel out of a brood? Spike wouldn't really do that. Well, Lorne thought after a moment, maybe he would. But the reason as to why eluded Lorne.

But they were still family, after all. And no matter how much Spike tried to prove to the outside world that he hated his grandsire, it was still obvious that there was a bond there. After another moment of contemplation, Lorne realized that, in all probability, Spike probably had come in to start a fight to distract Angel from his self-loathing.

And, as Angel burst out of the room, yelling "fine, I'll call Giles, just so long as you shut up" to Spike over his shoulder, Lorne realized that the ghost just might be on to something with his tactics.


	20. Chapter 19

A/N: So sorry about the long wait. I moved TWICE and then I participated in NaNoWriMo, and stage managed a play. I promise to update more frequently in the future. I hope you are still reading.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I realized while re-reading Echo's "Snake Charming" for the dozenth time that I had inadvertently copied her idea of the location and reasoning behind the tattoos on Draco and Dawn. I wanted to make sure that I told all of you that the credit for the idea goes to her, and that I have her permission now to use it, as long as she is acknowledged. Thanks again, Echo!

And, as always, thanks to RyianaT for betaing. Now Herein is posted the BETAED version!

Chapter Nineteen

The three teens heard the pounding music before they'd even reached the bottom of the stairs that led to the hotel's training area. The music was cranked so loud that the walls shook with it, and the teens could feel the heavy bass pounding through their bodies.

The room had been a good place to train when Angel and company had occupied the hotel, but since Champion Industries had moved in and Xander had attacked the place with a ferociousness that seemed to indicate that he was working so hard to keep from thinking of other things, the place was something that anyone who regularly worked out would drool at with envy. The fact that they had had a lot of Watcher funds that Willow had ferreted out to furnish the place after Xander's renovations certainly didn't hurt.

Xander had knocked out most of the dividing walls, though he'd had to leave the support columns in. The result was a very large open area under the hotel.

There was an open area on the floor for sparring, and a punching bag hanging in the corner. Another area was filled with a ton of exercise equipment and one wall was covered in various weapons. The wall opposite had floor to ceiling mirrors, allowing the slayers to watch themselves as they trained.

Missing from its spot at the bottom of the staircase was the big steel cage that had been there when they'd moved into the hotel. Angel had actually sent a crew over to help Xander destroy the thing, even though Buffy had protested its removal. A cage could always be useful, she'd said, but Angel had assured her that they could use the basement of Wolfram and Hart if the occasion ever arose that they should need to imprison someone. He'd seemed to hate the cell with a passion.

And though Draco hated to admit that he agreed with anything that Angel said, the removal of the cage had given them way more room to practice. And another vacant wall to install a really good stereo system, the likes of which was currently occupied blaring out the rock music that Luna liked to train to.

One would think that the pounding guitar of the song, the volume of which one could describe as deafening, would cover any and all noise that the trio of teens made when entering the basement. In spite of that, the blonde girl who had moments before been pummeling the punching bag turned towards them, as if she had heard their arrival. A person looking in on them would have said that they'd made some kind of noise to alert her to their presence, despite the music. But the teenagers facing each other in the basement knew better.

Luna was some who had the appearance of a normal, if slightly dreamy, girl. Or normal witch, one would say if they could tell that the wooden stick holding her hair up was, in fact, a magic wand. But that person would have probably been a witch or a wizard themselves, and would have found Luna normal enough. But those people would have been wrong. For Luna had not heard them, she had simply sensed their presence, probably from the moment that they had opened the door at the top of the stairs. And that was unusual, even for a witch.

But it was not unusual for the hotel. Hell, it was not even that unusual a talent for the people in the room. After all, with Cassidy present, there were two slayers in the basement. And it was the fact that Luna was such a creature that had sent her to the training room in the first place.

Because being a slayer was, although an everyday occurrence to the people that occupied the Hyperion Hotel, something quite extraordinary for the people that were now upstairs in the library. Those people, fellow Hogwarts students and the people who were with Luna during that battle at the Ministry of Magic, were certainly not accustomed to having a slayer in their midst. Hell, Luna wasn't even sure that they were aware of the existence of Slayers. Well, Hermione would be, but that didn't mean anything for the others.

However, from what Giles had told the blonde, the Gryffindors would know all about slayers, and the events of the Hellmouth, by the time that Buffy sent them up to their rooms in Witch Wing. When Luna finally saw them again, they would know it all. All except for the story of Diana. Giles had left the telling of that tale to Luna .

And so, with the thought of the upcoming conversation, which Giles had informed her she had to have with them tonight, weighing heavily on her mind, Luna had gone down to the training room. Right before the other teens had entered the lowest level of the Hyperion, the slayer had been taking her anxiety out on the heavy bag. But it hadn't really been helping.

It just hung there limply. It didn't defend itself. It didn't fight back. All in all, it made Luna feel like a bully. The feeling hadn't improved her mood.

Her mood hadn't been that bad when she had spoken with Mr. Giles. She'd truly been okay with it then. In fact, she'd kind of been looking forward to having her friends come to California.

All those years at Hogwarts and she'd never really had friends until last year, and the events and the department of mysteries. Situations of peril seemed to bring people together, Ginny had told her the summer after fourth year. After all, it was fighting a troll that had fostered the friendship of Harry and Ron with Hermione. Fighting Death Eaters could do no less for the rest of them.

As a result, and as Ginny had assured her would happen, Luna had been invited to Harry's sixteenth birthday party, as had Neville. After that, the trio had quickly become, more often then not, a group of six.

They'd become very good friends before Easter had come and her watcher and her father had decided to pull her out of school. She'd missed them terribly. It would be really great to see them again. Ginny had been right. Fights to the death really did forge true friendships.

And it was when that thought had crossed her mind that Luna's mood took a turn for the worse.

Because in the past year, Luna had had to fight for her life more than once. And had made more than one set of friends while doing so.

One that was, in fact, standing in front of her at that moment. And this one boasted an individual that the other group of her friends considered an enemy. This was only one of the problems that had sprung up in Luna's mind.

All in all, the train of thought had put Luna in a decidedly unusual foul mood, the likes of which not even the punching bag could improve. As a result, she was far more snappish at her friends then she would have been otherwise when she finally spoke.

"Are the three of you just going to stand there gaping at me all day? Or are you going to try to talk me out of my sulk, like Mr. Giles sent you to do"

"Giles didn't send us." Cassidy protested. Luna glared at her with a stare that was nearly physically palpable in its disbelief, and Cassidy relented. "Okay, so Buffy might have."

"Well," Luna said dismissively as she turned her back on them and resumed her abuse of the punching bag, the fact that she was now putting more power behind each punch visible even from across the room. "As you can see, I'm fine. Just doing a spot of training. Feel free to leave. I'm really not in need of the group support." Her words were interspersed with the steady sound of her hits landing on the punching bag. She was also adding a kick every now and then and the momentum with which the bag was swinging due to the impact was enough to tell the three newcomers that though Luna denied the fact, she was decidedly upset. "I told Mr. Giles, and I'll tell you. I'm really fine with it. We're in danger each day as it is, so a little bit more of that won't hurt, and it'll be nice to see Ginny and the others." Her words sounded sincere, but the hard slaps against the heavy bag gave her away. "Don't look at me as if I'm going to break down," Luna said, not even turning from the bag. "I don't need a group hug."

While she had been attacking the bag, J.J. had made his way over to the stereo, and now he turned the volume down to a level where he could be heard without shouting. That done, he approached Luna and grasped the bag that she was smashing about with both of his hands, forcing her to stop her attack. Realizing that she couldn't attack the punching back with the same ferociousness that she had been using without hurting her friend, she simply stepped back, crossing her arms and staring at him pointedly.

"Did it not occur to you, Moonshine, that I might be the one in need of a group hug?" He cocked one eyebrow at the girl in an expression so patently Spike that Luna had no choice but to give up her anger and smile a little at the sight.

"I'm the one who had to spend the day with three of his enemies, you realize," he pointed out. And Luna noted the conspicuous absence of Ginny in that statement. She was going to have to have a talk with him about that. If J.J. was going to be that obvious around Ginny, it would be no time at all before even Ron, daft as he could be, would know how the Slytherin felt about the youngest Weasley. "Think of how I feel. At least you get along with them." J.J.'s tone was so affronted that Luna couldn't help but laugh. "You actually like those people. Of course it'll be fine for you."

Her eyes dropped to the ground at his last words. Though she had denied being upset before, it had been obvious to all three of her friends that Luna was far from all right. "You really think so, huh?" Her eyes snapped up with the harshly asked question, and she fixed a glare on J.J. "Sure, I might be fine with them, J.J. But a hell of a lot of things have changed since Hogwarts, including me." She strode over towards J.J. and shoved him in the chest. "It's easy for you, Mr. Big Shot Slytherin. No one expects you to like them. Everyone expects there to be animosity and perhaps some downright loathing between you. You've got nothing to lose." She shoved him in the chest again. "But what about me, huh?" Again, her hand shoved at him harshly. "I was their friend, but that was a lifetime ago for me. You all expect me to just pick right back up where I left off with them like nothing happened." She shoved him again, and this time she had put enough power behind it to make him stumble backwards. The action didn't faze the blonde slayer in the least, though. She just kept right on ranting, and even though her ranting included the occasional shove, the likes of which J.J. was quite sure would leave him with a sizeable bruise on his person after she was done, the boy just let her do it. She needed to vent about this turn of events just as much as he did. And if the impromptu shoving that Luna was doing now turned into a sparing match, all the better.

But for now, ranting was what she was doing, and as J.J. was quite in the mood to utter more than a few choice words himself, he just let her go.

"What does Giles expect?" The blonde shoved J.J. again, but her words and her glare were both directed at Dawn. "Is he completely off of his rocker, Dawn?" She turned away from J.J. and he let out a relieved breath when it was apparent that the slayer was done using him as a target for the moment. "Does Giles really think that I'll be able to slip back into an easy friendship with the Gryffindor four, as if nothing at all has happened? As if I've just been gone over spring holiday and not for over five months? As if they wouldn't have a thousand questions for me? As if they wouldn't realize that I'm not the Luna Lovegood that they grew to know and trust, but that I'm somebody else completely?"

"Oh, like I'm not a completely different person from the one that they thought I was," J.J. spat out. "They've seen me as I am now," he told Luna as her gaze swung back around to glare at J.J. once again. "And other than seeming a little confused, which, as far as I'm concerned," he pointed out, "is pretty much a perpetual state of being for them, they didn't seem at all fazed by it, Lady Di."

"No offense, Malfoy," she spat back at him, the name one she hadn't used since long before the collapse of Sunnydale, "but you know that they don't give a rat's arse about you. It won't matter to them one bit that you've changed. Me, on the other hand, me they trusted. And I lied to them. I lied to them about where I've been since I left school, and I lied to them before that. About who I was. About my very character." The blonde slayer shoved him yet again, and J.J. just took it. "Giles told me that they were my friends, and that nothing will have changed. How the hell can that be?" She thrust her hand out to collide with his chest once more, and the former Slytherin realized that her pushes were becoming more and more forceful, and that if he didn't put a stop to it soon, she might very well become overzealous enough to break one of his ribs. "How in Goddess's name can that be?" She nearly screamed the question. "It may be that nothing's changed for them, but everything's changed for me. What if they hate me?" She sucked in a shuddering breath and looked crestfallen at the thought. "Harry's always hated lies, hated people who kept things from him." The fight went out of her with the thought, and the hand that she'd had raised, the one that kept accosting J.J., dropped suddenly to her side as if in defeat. She looked at him earnestly, tears already filling her pale blue eyes. "What if I lose them, J.J.?"

The young man hated seeing that look in her eyes. He hated that look in the eyes of any of the girls in the room, actually, but more then that, he absolutely hated the fact that he couldn't do anything to remove it. Diana was in pain, and he didn't know how to fix it.

That kind of protectiveness, that kind of empathy for someone he actually considered a friend, was something quite foreign to J.J., and he didn't quite know how to deal with the emotions.

That uncertainty caused him to fall back to his old Malfoy upbringing, which meant that he lashed out, somewhat irrationally, at the thing that had caused him pain. Or, in this case, the thing that had caused his friend pain.

And that thing was the Gryffindor four.

Dawn and Cassidy's eyes widened in surprise when J.J.'s response to Diana's questions was, instead of the soft sympathy and reassurance he had been slowly learning to offer, especially with the girls in the room, a harsh reprimand snarled in that cold voice he'd so often spoken with when first coming to Sunnydale.

"Who gives a rat's arse, Lady Di, if you lose them? If they're going to be like that about it, they don't deserve you. You'd be better for it, I'd say."

The tears that had been silently slipping down Diana's dace, released in front of her friends when she had hidden them from Giles, having tried so hard to convince both he and herself that she was fine with the sudden return of the only friends that she'd ever had at Hogwarts, dried in the face of J.J.'s sudden anger. Her eyes widened at his harsh words. "What?" she questioned quietly, her voice incredulous.

"You heard me, Loony Luna. It wasn't just the Slytherins that called you that, you know? The Gryffindors did it too, the Golden Trio included. Why do you give a shit what they think of you now?"

Diana shook her head, unbelieving that this was her friend J.J. He was suddenly Draco Malfoy again, and Diana didn't understand quite why.

"Because of what happened at the ministry. They're the only friends I have." Her voice was gradually rising in volume as she spoke back to J.J. "And of course I care about them. I almost died with them. Harry saved our lives, much that you hate him."

J.J. turned red, and Dawn knew that after the day they'd had, Diana had managed to push exactly the right button to set him off. "Potter? Perfect fucking Potter damned near got you all killed. And he did get his godfather killed," he yelled harshly.

The movement from the blonde slayer was so fast that none of the teens knew what had happened until J.J. was lying flat on his back, his mouth bleeding, Diana standing over him and shaking out the hand that she'd just used to flatten the boy.

"How dare you, J.J.? How dare you! You know damn well that Harry didn't cause Sirius's death. Voldemort did."

J.J.'s eyes widened, showing his surprise at hearing the timid Ravenclaw use the word for the first time. But moments later Dawn saw his eyes harden, and he swept his legs out, knocking Diana, who had been too wrapped up in her anger at him to anticipate the move, to the floor with him. He quickly pinned her to the ground. "How dare I?" he snarled, his face nearly pressed into hers. "How could you"? He shook her a little. "How could you say that they're your only friends"?

Using a move that she'd learned from the elder slayers, Luna flipped him over her head so that he landed on his back. He sat up and turned back to the girl, who was blinking at him in surprise.

Dawn and Cassidy were surprised to discover that J.J. was now shaking with suppressed rage. "The Gryffindor four are your only friends? What the hell are we then, scotch mist? Cornish pixies? Crumple horned snorkacks or whatever the hell it is that you call them? Funny, I always thought that we were your friends. But I guess that goes right out the window now that Perfect Potter comes back. The minute he shows up he gets everything, just like he always has." J.J.'s eyes flashed silver with his emotions, and Dawn and Cassidy also suspected that there might be a glitter of unshed tears shining in them as well. "What did he do to earn your friendship, Moonshine, tell me that? Other then lead you into danger? And yet, he gets your loyalty, without even trying. Like always. Like with Granger, and Weasley. Friends who picked him for him and not for his family or the power he wields. Friends like you, and hell, even Longbottom." J.J. jumped to his feet then and began to pace back and forth, his movement an outlet to release some the pent up emotion he was now letting to the surface for what his friends highly suspected was the first time.

As Dawn watched J.J.'s agitated movement across the room, she pondered how really very similar he was to the vampire he had adopted as his father. His ranting about Harry Potter very much reminded her of Spike's legendary rants about Angel. It also occurred to her as she watched him closely that the driving emotion behind Draco's proclaimed hatred for Harry was the same as Spike's for Angel.

Sure, there was an abundance of animosity and loathing on the surface, but in the end, that was really a front to hide behind, a way to make sure that no one could see what they were really feeling, which was envy. Simply put, Spike and J.J. saw in Angel and Harry the things that they had always wanted. Saw their rivals receiving the things that they had always desired, but that they had never quite managed to get.

The theory was proven for Dawn with J.J.'s next words.

"And should I even mention Ginny?" Luna, who had just finished getting to her own feet, whipped her head around so fast that had the girl not been a slayer, Dawn would have worried that the girl had given herself whiplash.

He really was making his feelings for Ginny deadly obvious. Luna had always had her suspicions that the Slytherin harbored feeling for her fellow soon to be sixth year, most of them stemming from his seeming infatuation with Willow and her resemblance to Ginny, but he really was confirming them all tonight. He'd have to be better at hiding his feelings, or Ron was going to kill him.

The boy's next words served only to further support the fact that J.J. Summers was completely hung up on Ginevra Weasley, and as Luna thought back to Ginny's unusual quietness after the Slytherin had disappeared from Hogwarts shortly before the slayer herself had, Luna thought that maybe, just maybe, Draco Malfoy may have been just a little mad for Ginny himself. He certainly ranted as if that were the case.

"I mean here's this girl that's completely toe up for him, and that's before he managed to save her life, a couple of times. After that she completely worships the ground he walks on. And did he do anything to deserve it? No! Did he appreciate it? NO! Did he even notice that he had this goddess throwing herself at his feet? Of course he didn't, the bloody pillock!"

J.J. was now practically wearing a hole in the floor with his frantic pacing, and the girls looked at each other, each clearly worried that this could go on all night.

Luna couldn't allow that. She had things that she had to do before school in the morning, not the least of which was speaking with the four Gryffindors who were newly ensconced at Slayer Central. An although she knew that what J.J. had said about her friends, well, the part about them not being worth her time if they turned their backs on her, at any rate, was completely true, she was still nervous about the talk.

J.J. was right in the fact that if they couldn't accept her as she was now, that it was their loss. However, it didn't mean that she'd take it very well if that was the way that things turned out.

She didn't need to be listening to J.J. rant on and on about how Ginny was too good for Harry, the way that Luna was sure he would if she didn't interrupt him.

In the mood that he was in, there was only one thing that Luna could think to do, and it was much the same tactic that Dawn had employed earlier at Wolfram and Hart.

She stepped in front of him and shoved him one last time. Hard. "You're the bloody pillock, Drake! Just because Harry knew better in first year then to make friends with you, it doesn't make him a git."

"Oh yeah?" J.J. approached her, shoving her back with all his might. But they both knew that Luna, as a slayer, would not be hurt at all by his actions. Instead, she was a safe way to vent his frustrations. And in turn, he could help her work out hers.

After all, wasn't that the reason she'd told Mr. Giles that she'd be down here? Because J.J. would be upset after spending that much time in the company of Draco Malfoy's rivals, J.J. would need to release all of his animosity? Even if he wasn't Malfoy anymore, the Gryffindors would still have treated him as such. It was obvious by the way he was acting that they had done just that.

"Yeah," Luna retorted as she returned his push, shoving hard enough to send him stumbling to the floor. "He's not a git, like some people I could name."

J.J. did a kick up to land on his feet, ignoring the smirk that Dawn threw Cassidy's way and indicated that both girls knew Luna was egging him on as he strode towards the blonde slayer. He stopped mere inches from her face, glaring at her. "If you were referring to Weasel boy, I couldn't agree with you more."

Luna threw an elbow in J.J.'s gut, pushing him back enough so that she had enough distance to throw the right hook that she followed it with. J.J. managed to dodge it and attempted to sweep Luna's feet out from under her. She saw the move coming and managed to jump over his outstretched leg while she continued to taunt him.

"Ronald's not a git," Luna shouted, and the other girls returned their focus to J.J., sure of what was to come out of their friend's mouth next. After all, it was plain as day that Luna was goading J.J. into a fight so that he'd work out all his aggression physically before they'd have to go back and once again face the Gryffindors.

"If he isn't, who is then?" J.J. demanded, the exasperation evident in his voice.

"You are!" she yelled as they continued their attempts to hit each other, neither teen having had any luck at connecting yet.

J.J. was going to respond when he caught sight of Dawn and Cassidy's expression of amusement, the distraction allowing Luna to connect a light kick to his stomach. Both the gentleness of the blow and the smirk Dawn was wearing allowed J.J. to finally realize what it was that Luna was doing.

"Are you trying to goad me into a fight, Moonshine?" he asked her as she ducked the right cross he'd thrown at her face.

"Wow, glad you finally caught that train, Drake" Luna laughed. "Is it working?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted "but why?"

"You're always less angry after you spar," she pointed out.

J.J. thought about all the times he'd felt angry since coming to the States. He'd always lashed out verbally at Hogwarts, only managing to infuriate himself further that his words seemed so useless. But since Spike, Faith and finally Buffy had all begun teaching him to fight like a muggle, and Dawn, Luna and Cassidy sparred with him, he'd always found himself less angry after a good physical fight. Diana had a point.

He laughed a little at the thought. "Okay, Moonshine, you may be right." The heel thrust to her solar plexus he launched with his words managed to catch her unaware. "But that doesn't mean that you're going to win."

She grabbed the fist that had swung out to hit her again, and used it to pin his arm behind his back.

"In your dreams, Dragon."

All words were abandoned then when they began to spar in earnest.

"Wanna join them?" Cassidy asked Dawn. "I promise I'll go easy on you."

Dawn's foot swept out, and before the brunette slayer could blink, she was flat on the floor.

"Forget who my sister is, Cass? She is, after all, the one who taught me how to fight." Dawn stretched out a hand to pull Cassidy off of the floor. "No going easy on me, deal?"

Cassidy shook the hand that she'd yet to let go of that had aided her in standing, sealing the agreement.

"Deal." she said. "C'mon then" she headed towards the mats where their friends were still fighting in earnest, "can't let the lady Di and the Dragon have all the fun, can we?"


End file.
